MORE than 890 people were arrested on Saturday at a demonstration against the government’s ban of campaign group Palestine Action.
An estimated 1,500 gathered in Parliament Square in central London to oppose the group’s proscription, some holding placards that read: ‘I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.’
One of the protesters, Bill Duckworth from Chipping Norton, told News Line: ‘I’m protesting against the stupidity of the ban on people’s right to protest.
‘If we don’t stand up to these laws then we will have no rights at all.
‘My father was severely injured fighting fascism in World War II, and his brother was killed fighting abroad and his other brother was killed by a German V2 rocket in Kent.
‘We have to make a stand against any fascist measures in this country.’
Maria Gallas from north London said: ‘I think Parliament Square is the most important place to be today to protest against the ban on Palestine Action.
‘The trade unions must oppose this ban and call a general strike to stop the genocide in Gaza.’
The Metropolitan Police said 857 arrests were for supporting a proscribed organisation. 17 people were arrested for assaults on police officers and 16 for other public order offences.
The government proscribed Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act in July, making membership of or support of the group a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The Met claimed there had been a ‘coordinated effort to prevent officers carrying out their duties’ and that anyone who assaulted an officer would be prosecuted ‘to the full extent of the law’.
Defend Our Juries, which organised the rally, responded by saying officers ‘violently assault peaceful protesters including the elderly, in order to try and arrest over a thousand people for holding cardboard signs.’
It shared a video of a police officer shoving an elderly protester to the ground.
A spokesperson for the group had earlier said that ‘resistance to this ridiculous ban keeps on growing exponentially.’
They added that the demonstration showed the Palestine Action ban was ‘impossible to enforce and a preposterous waste of resources’.
The Met said the tactics used at the protest to ‘overwhelm the justice system… required significant resource which took officers out of neighbourhoods to the detriment of the Londoners who rely on them.’
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