Overview

• Police arrested 522 people at the Parliament Square sit-in for displaying support for Palestine Action, with only 18 remaining in custody after processing and the rest bailed under non-attendance conditions
• Defend Our Juries coordinated the silent demonstration, where participants held placards reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” despite warnings that such displays constitute a terrorism offence
• Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and the Metropolitan Police defended the proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000, citing Joint Terrorism Assessment Centre assessments of violent damage and future attack planning
• International bodies, including the United Nations, Amnesty International and Greenpeace, criticised the ban and mass arrests as a disproportionate curb on freedom of expression and assembly
• Earlier this week, Jeremy Shippam, Judit Murray and Fiona Maclean became the first individuals formally charged under the new law criminalising membership or support of Palestine Action