Hundreds Arrested at London Palestine Action Protest
Metropolitan Police disclosed the mass detentions in an official statement, confirming that "523 people were arrested today for showing support for a proscribed organisation," and noting that those detained ranged in age from 18 to 87.
The sweep was tied to a demonstration organized by Defend Our Juries, with officers making arrests "for showing support for a proscribed organisation," the force stated, in a direct reference to Palestine Action. Authorities later confirmed the protest had wrapped up and participants had dispersed from Trafalgar Square in central London.
"Officers continue to process those who have been arrested and investigations are ongoing," said police.
Defend Our Juries pushed back sharply, writing on X — the US-owned social media platform — that police are "knowingly unlawfully arresting peaceful protestors for holding placards which say: 'I oppose genocide - I support Palestine Action.'"
Amnesty UK condemned the crackdown as "yet another blow to civil liberties in this country," pointing to a High Court ruling issued in February which found the proscription of Palestine Action to be unlawful. "This is not policing. This is the state criminalising dissent," the organization wrote on X.
Despite that court ruling, Metropolitan Police had previously signaled it would resume detaining individuals who publicly express support for Palestine Action — a position that rights groups say defies judicial authority.
Palestine Action was designated a terror organization last July under the Terrorism Act, following an incident in which members breached a Royal Air Force base, spray-painting two aircraft and causing an estimated £7 million ($9.44 million) in damage. Since the ban took effect, hundreds of pro-Palestine activists have been arrested across the UK.
The escalating clampdown has drawn sharp rebukes from human rights organizations and UN experts alike, who have called on the British government to revoke its classification of Palestine Action as a terrorist group and halt what they describe as the systematic suppression of peaceful protest.
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