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West Yorkshire Police Launch Review After Pensioner’s Terror Arrest Over Satirical Cartoon

His six-hour detention for holding a satirical Private Eye cartoon on Palestine Action prompted West Yorkshire Police to apologize along with the launch of an internal review.

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Overview

  • Jon Farley, 67, was arrested under section 12 of the Terrorism Act during a silent Leeds protest on July 19 for displaying a Private Eye cartoon satirizing the proscribed group Palestine Action.
  • West Yorkshire Police held Farley for six hours, questioned him on alleged support for a terrorist organisation, and released him without charge under bail conditions barring attendance at Palestine Action events.
  • Private Eye editor Ian Hislop condemned the arrest as “mind-boggling” and demanded a formal apology, warning that such use of terrorism legislation threatens freedom of expression.
  • The UK government’s July 4 proscription of Palestine Action marked the first designation of a property-damage direct-action group under the Terrorism Act, with penalties up to 14 years in prison.
  • UN experts and human rights defenders caution that applying anti-terror powers to peaceful protesters and political cartoons could chill public debate and civil liberties.