UK decision to ban Palestine Action as ‘terror group’ unlawful, court says

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Group’s co-founder declares ruling ‘monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people.’

The High Court in the United Kingdom has ruled that the government ban on the pro-Palestinian campaign group called Palestine Action as a “terror group” was unlawful.

In a statement responding to the landmark ruling on Friday, Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori, who had challenged the government’s ban, said the ruling was a huge win for the group.

“This is a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people, striking down a decision that will forever be remembered as one of the most extreme attacks on free speech in recent British history.”

However, the British government immediately said it intended to appeal the court’s ruling.

“I am disappointed by ⁠the court’s decision ⁠and disagree with the notion that banning ⁠this terrorist organisation ⁠is disproportionate,” ⁠Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood ⁠said in a statement.

“I intend to fight this ‌judgment in the Court of ‌Appeal.”

The United Kingdom said last June that it would ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws. This put the organisation on par with armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the UK, making it a criminal offence to belong to the group.

The government’s announcement prompted legal battles, criticism from human rights organisations and triggered protests.

Among those arrested for supporting the group were some 2,787 people arrested made for terrorism offences for peacefully holding signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action” in silent vigils across the UK, a statement by the campaign group Defend Our Juries said.

It said those arrests would now be unlawful as a result of the ruling.

A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said that “thousands of people of conscience” had seen that “branding protest as terrorism was a move straight out of the dictator’s playbook”.

“Together we took action at great personal risk – inspired by each other’s courage. We helped make this proscription unenforceable by saying ‘we do not comply’.”

The spokesperson added that most people in the UK had been “disgusted by both the government’s complicity in what most experts agree is an ongoing genocide in Gaza by Israel”.

Speaking at the court, artist Nicola Moxham, who had been arrested herself for support of the group, described the ruling as a “vindication”.

The court’s decision, she said, was and “absolute triumph for direct action in support of Palestine Action and opposing, most importantly, the genocide of Palestinians and destruction of Gaza”.

“It’s kind of unbelievable really that the Labour Party is supposedly the party of ordinary people and here they are repressing ordinary people for standing for justice and against genocide,” she told Al Jazeera.

The ruling triggered scenes of jubilation at the court in London, where supporters could be heard chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.