Nearly 900 people were arrested Saturday at a protest in London in support of the group Palestine Action, which has been controversially labeled a terrorist organization by the U.K. government.
Police said 857 people were detained for “supporting terrorism,” while 33 more were detained for other offenses. Organizers said an estimated 1,500 people attended the protest in London, with many standing and carrying signs that read, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
Saturday’s protest led to the largest mass arrest in support of the group. An estimated 1,600 people have been detained for supporting Palestine Action since the U.K. labeled it a terrorist group in early July.
The designation has sparked free speech concerns and protests throughout Britain. Critics have called it an overreaching application of Britain’s anti-terrorism laws.
Martin Pope/Getty Images
Protesters hold up signs saying ‘I oppose Genocide – I support Palestine Action’ during a demonstration in Parliament Square in London on Saturday. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)
“And I’m a terrorist? That’s the joke of it,” said 62-year-old Mike Higgins, a blind protester who uses a wheelchair. “I’ve already been arrested under the Terrorism Act, and I suspect I will be today.”
Palestine Action is a direct action group that committed vandalism and other petty crimes to draw attention to the plight of Palestinians. In March, the group spray-painted a golf course owned by President Trump in Scotland.
AP Photo/Joanna Chan
Police officers arrest a protester during a demonstration to support Palestine Action in London on Saturday. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)
The group was designated a terrorist organization after breaking into a Royal Air Force base and spray-painting planes and causing damage with crowbars.
The ban on Palestine Action “raises serious concerns that counterterrorism laws are being applied to conduct that is not terrorist in nature,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
With News Wire Services