“Listing a protest group, even one responsible for severe criminal damage, as a terrorist organisation would have very serious implications for protest and activism in the UK"
Civil society groups have condemned the UK Government’s decision to proscribe a direct action Palestinian solidarity group.
In a statement to parliament, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said a draft proscription order for Palestine Action would be laid in parliament on 30 June.
If passed, it would make it illegal to be a member of, or support, the organisation, which has conducted high profile acts of direct action in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The group, founded in 2020, says it aims to prevent the commission of genocide and war crimes in Palestine and to expose and target property and premises connected to such crimes against humanity.
Last week activists broke into Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, spraying paint into the engines of Voyager aircraft and further damaging them with crowbars.
Previous actions have included causing £1 million worth of damage to a weapons equipment factory in Glasgow.
Activists scaled a roof, unfurled banners and set off pyrotechnics at the Thales UK building in Govan on 1 June 2022. Five were subsequently jailed.
If the UK Government proscription goes ahead, Palestine Action would be considered a terrorist group – on a par with the likes of Islamic State, al-Qaida or the violent neo-nazi group National Action – and voicing support for them would also be considered support for terrorism.
Civil society groups have voiced dismay at the home secretary’s decision, with Amnesty International and Liberty writing a joint letter to Cooper to express their concerns.
International NGO umbrella group Bond also spoke out.
Rowan Popplewell, policy manager on civic space, said: "We are very troubled by the government's decision to proscribe Palestine Action.
“Listing a protest group, even one responsible for severe criminal damage, as a terrorist organisation would have very serious implications for protest and activism in the UK and could set a concerning precedent.
“It would mean that anyone who expresses support for, or donates money to, the group could be prosecuted on terrorism-related charges. We urge the home secretary to think again on this decision."
Palestine Action said the ban is an escalation of a crack down on the right to protest by the UK Government: “This is an unhinged reaction to an action spraying paint in protest the UK Government arming Israel's slaughter of the Palestinian people. The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these war planes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK Government's complicity in Israel's genocide."
