LAST Friday, four Palestinian activists became the first protesters in Britain to be sentenced as terrorists without being convicted of any terrorism offence.
The four had previously been found guilty of the offence of criminal damage, a lesser charge that carries a significantly lower prison term than that of terrorism.
In a move unprecedented in UK law, the judge, Mr Justice Johnson, ruled there appeared to be a ‘terrorist connection’ in the damage inflicted at a site belonging to the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems.
Not content with tearing up what leading human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield called ‘the fundamental principle’ of law that a person should not be convicted of an offence for which they haven’t been charged, on Monday the UK Court of Appeal ruled that the ban on Palestine Action was lawful.
This ruling by the Court of Appeal overturned the decision by the High Court which concluded in February that the proscription of Palestine Action was ‘unlawful’ and ‘discriminatory’.
The High Court found that the then Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to ban the group constituted a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights as it contained ‘a very significant’ interference with the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The lifting of the ban – which made support for Palestine Action punishable by up to 14 years in prison – was immediately challenged by the Labour government which resulted in it being upheld by five judges on Monday.
Reading out the written ruling, Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr defended Labour’s decision to ban the group on the grounds that the Labour Home Secretary is ‘in the best position to assess …. future threats and risks’ to the property of the Israeli arms industry.
In other words, the courts must accept whatever the Labour government tells them and ignore the issue of genocide and international law.
Former government lawyer Tim Crossland told the Middle East Eye (MEE) that the court had ignored the issue of the crime of genocide committed by Israel, saying: ‘We know the reason for Palestine Action’s existence is stopping drones getting to the Israeli forces to be used to kill Palestinians in violation of international law.’
In fact, in their written judgement the court described Elbit Systems as a ‘company pursuing lawful business’.
Saeed Farouky from Defend Our Juries said that calling Elbit a ‘lawful company’ is the ‘biggest lie’ and that ‘Elbit Systems is playing a central role in Israel’s genocide’.
Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest arms firm, cooperating closely with the Israeli Occupation Forces and describes itself as the ‘backbone’ of the Israeli military’s drone fleet used in surveillance of Palestinians to deliver ‘target intelligence’ according to a report by the United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
This is just ‘lawful business’ as far as the High Court judges and the Labour government are concerned.
Keir Starmer, who refuses to use the word ‘genocide’ when it comes to the Zionist regime murdering over 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and the Labour government are determined to protect the Zionist state and its arms industry at all costs.
The working class and youth in Britain and across the world are in no doubt that the real terrorists are the Zionist state of Israel.
Faced with the overwhelming hatred of workers and youth for genocidal war to drive Palestinians from their land the Labour government is using courts and police in a desperate attempt to protect the Zionist state by intimidating all those who support the Palestinians.
There has never been a better, or more necessary, time to bring down this genocide-supporting Labour government.
Now is the time for the working class to force the TUC to call a general strike to bring down the Labour government and bring in a workers government and socialism – a workers government that will end all arms to Israel, immediately recognise the independent state of Palestine and provide the Palestinians with all the weapons and support required for the victory of the Palestinian revolution.
