World

London Police Detain 139 Protesters as Demonstrations Oppose Palestine Action Ban

By Al Jazeera Staff

Police in London arrested 139 people after protesters defied a warning not to attend a rally against the proscription of Palestine Action, a group classified as a "terrorist" organisation under UK law. The demonstration, held outside the United States embassy on Saturday, came ahead of a Supreme Court appeal on Wednesday that challenges the ban, which was imposed in July last year by the government of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Metropolitan Police said the number of arrests had risen from 48 earlier in the day to 139, most of which were for expressing support for the proscribed organisation. Labour MP John McDonnell responded on X, arguing that protesting the government’s decision does not automatically mean supporting the organisation and that the proscription was a wrong decision. The rally was the first mass protest against the ban since Prime Minister Andy Burnham took office in July. Critics say the designation is part of a broader crackdown on pro‑Palestine voices. The proscription places Palestine Action on the same list as al‑Qaeda and ISIL. Protesters also gathered outside the US consulate in Edinburgh, though no arrests were reported there. Demonstrators in both cities held placards reading "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action." Defend Our Juries, which organised the protests, said the Saturday arrests brought the total number of people detained for defying the ban to more than 4,000 since July 2025. A spokesperson for the group described the arrests as a "dystopian" use of terror laws for peaceful vigils and linked the ban to a Trump‑style policy aimed at appeasing Israeli weapons companies. Felix Jakens, head of communications and campaigns for Amnesty International UK, called the arrests a "disgraceful attack on freedom of speech" and urged the government to drop the proscription and reform laws to allow greater freedom to demonstrate.