Amnesty International Condemns Mass Arrests of Pro-Palestine Protesters in London
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – After British police detained 474 demonstrators at a Palestine Action protest in London, intensifying the UK government’s crackdown on solidarity with the Palestinian cause, Amnesty International decried the arrests as disproportionate and called for urgent action against Israel.
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action on July 5, criminalizing any support for the group. Despite this, a significant number of protesters carried placards backing Palestine Action at the demonstration in Parliament Square.
The Metropolitan Police detained 466 people under the Terrorism Act for allegedly supporting the banned organization. Eight others were arrested for various offenses, including assaults on officers.
This represents the highest number of arrests by the Met related to a single operation in over ten years.
The protest organizer, Defend Our Juries, estimated around 700 attendees and described police preparations for the "largest mass arrest in their history."
Among those arrested were former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg, NHS workers, Quakers, and a blind wheelchair user.
Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK, condemned the arrests, stating, "The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists."
Deshmukh urged the UK government to cease criminalizing peaceful demonstrators and focus on stopping Israel’s ongoing genocide and preventing UK complicity.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper justified the ban on Palestine Action, citing security concerns following "serious attacks" attributed to the group, involving violence and extensive criminal damage.
Detainees were processed in Westminster; those verified were bailed with conditions barring attendance at further Palestine Action events, while others were held in various custody suites across London.
The wave of arrests has strained prison resources, with senior prison officials meeting to manage capacity issues amid near-full male prisons in the London area.
The Metropolitan Police Federation highlighted officer exhaustion and the cancellation of rest days amid the surge in arrests and confrontations.
Palestine Action was banned with legislation carrying prison sentences of up to 14 years for support.
Despite the ban, Defend Our Juries vowed to continue protests, dismissing concerns by asserting that "Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs present no danger to the public at large."
Separately, another Palestine solidarity march was held by the Palestine Coalition, where one person was arrested for supporting Palestine Action.
Three individuals charged in connection with illegal Palestine Action activity are scheduled for court in September.
Palestine Action’s legal challenge to the UK ban will be heard in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review.
The UK government’s suppression of pro-Palestinian activism exemplifies its complicity in enabling Israeli regime’s violence, silencing dissent while shielding Israeli aggression from accountability.
