Khaberni - A court in Britain is considering today, Wednesday, an appeal against the British government's decision to ban the "Palestine Action" movement, advocating for Palestinians, and designate it as a terrorist organization. It is expected that the lawyers of one of its founders will argue government misuse of anti-terrorism laws.
The hearing at the High Court in London, expected to last three days, is crucial for the government, which has been criticized for adopting a loose definition of what constitutes terrorism.
Huda Ammori, the co-founder of "Palestine Action," has filed a lawsuit against the Home Office challenging the ban, which categorizes the group along with Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and the Irish Republican Army, making membership a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The Home Office stated that "Palestine Action" has engaged in an intense campaign that resulted in significant deliberate damages, including to the national security infrastructure in the UK, as well as intimidation, violence, and serious injuries, according to the ministry.
Common Sense
On their part, a spokesperson for the "Defend Our Juries" organization, which organizes protest rallies against the genocide in Gaza, said they hope that common sense will prevail in the High Court.
They added that the ban was a tyrannical act of abusing power, aimed solely to protect Israel and the arms companies that fuel the genocide it commits, and shamefully complicit government ministers in this genocide.
The movement was banned in July after a series of incidents peaked with the storming of RAF Brize Norton in June, during which members of the movement caused damage to two aircraft.
Opponents of the ban say that acts of protest involving property damage do not amount to terrorism and that this move could undermine the right to protest.
UN Condemnation
The United Nations considered the decision to ban this movement "disproportionate" and it was condemned by human rights organizations and criticized by the Council of Europe, which saw it as a significant restriction on the freedom to demonstrate.
The movement was established in 2020, and gained fame due to the protests targeting Israeli defense companies and British companies linked to them. It escalated its activities during the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip.
2,300 out of thousands of protesters denouncing the genocide in Gaza were arrested, according to the "Defend Our Juries" association. As of November 20, 254 individuals had been charged with supporting a terrorist organization.
Most of them face a prison sentence of up to 6 months under anti-terrorism law.
