UK Police Arrest 466 People at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group

London police have made 466 arrests during a protest in support of the banned Palestine Action group, marking the highest number of arrests on a single day in the past decade. The Met Police confirmed that the protesters were arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation, with eight additional arrests for other offences, including five for assaults on officers. No one was seriously injured during the incident.

Palace Action, a group that has been accused of complicity in Israeli war crimes in Gaza, was banned by the UK government under anti-terrorism laws after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes. The group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, recently won a legal challenge against the ban, but critics, including the United Nations and groups like Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have condemned the move as a legal overreach and a threat to free speech.

The ban makes it a crime to be a member of Palestine Action, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The law falls under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000, which defines an offence as expressing support for a proscribed organisation. In a post on X, the Met Police stated that anyone who came to Parliament Square to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or in the process of being arrested.

Psychotherapist Craig Bell, 39, who was among the protesters, called the ban 'absolutely ridiculous,' comparing it to the actions of actual terrorist groups. Protesters, some wearing black and white scarves and waving Palestinian flags, chanted 'hands off Gaza' and held placards with the message 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' The crowd also chanted 'shame on you' at the police.

A group called Defend Our Juries, which organised the protest, said 'unprecedented numbers' had risked 'arrest and possible imprisonment' to 'defend this country's ancient liberties.' They added that their numbers are already growing for the next wave of action in September.

Police forces across the UK have made scores of similar arrests since the government outlawed Palestine Action on July 5. UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk called the ban 'disproportionate and unnecessary,' stating that it appears to constitute an impermissible restriction on rights that is at odds with the UK's obligations under international human rights law.

The United Nations and Amnesty International have also condemned the ban and the arrests. Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh urged restraint, stating that the protesters were not inciting violence and that treating them as terrorists was 'disproportionate to the point of absurdity.'

A UK court challenge against the decision to proscribe Palestine Action will be heard in November. This case could set a significant legal precedent in the UK regarding free speech and the use of anti-terrorism laws.