In a landmark ruling celebrated by human rights teams, the Excessive Courtroom in London has known as the UK authorities’s ban on the pro-Palestinian marketing campaign group, Palestine Motion, “illegal”.
In July final yr, the UK authorities had banned the group, which had protested towards Israel’s genocidal conflict on Gaza and the UK’s assist for Israel. The Labour authorities led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer designated it as a “terrorist” organisation and a nationwide safety risk, placing it on par with armed teams like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
Advisable Tales
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Right here’s a timeline of when and why Palestine Motion was banned and what members of the group have needed to endure up to now:
What does Friday’s ruling imply?
On Friday morning, judges on the Royal Courts of Justice struck down the British authorities’s proscription towards Palestine Motion, ruling that they had been “happy that the choice to proscribe Palestine Motion was disproportionate”.
Sean Summerfield, a UK-based barrister specialising in worldwide legal legislation and human rights at Doughty Road Chambers, informed Al Jazeera that Friday’s ruling primarily vindicates those that stood in solidarity with Palestine Motion and won’t impact these instantly engaged with the group.
For the reason that ban, the UK police have arrested 2,787 folks for holding indicators like “I oppose genocide”, “I assist Palestine Motion” in silent vigils throughout the UK, based on a press release by the marketing campaign group, Defend Our Juries.
After Friday’s courtroom ruling, holding such placards will not be thought of illegal.
Defend Our Juries mentioned that after Friday’s ruling, seven folks charged with Part 12 (Terrorism Act 2000) offences for addressing Zoom calls as a part of the Carry the Ban marketing campaign towards Palestine Motion may even have their arrests deemed illegal.
Summerfield mentioned the UK’s Director of Public Prosecutions will now have a choice to make about what to do with these already arrested.
“Do they respect the choice of the Excessive Courtroom and discontinue these prosecutions, or do they proceed to prosecute pending attraction? The Metropolitan police have already indicated they are going to now cease arresting folks for holding placards, however that doesn’t preclude additional arrests if the attraction succeeds,” he mentioned.
“However given the early indications that the federal government will attraction, the 1000’s of individuals arrested for holding placards are more likely to stay in limbo,” he added.
Summerfield mentioned that with respect to these activists instantly engaged with Palestine Motion who’ve damaged into arms factories or disrupted provide chains on behalf of the group, prosecution will proceed.
“It is because they’ve been charged with issues like legal injury. They may nonetheless be prosecuted,” he mentioned.
Why was Palestine Motion banned?
Final July, members of the UK parliament voted in favour of banning Palestine Motion, which was established in July 2020. The direct motion group describes itself as a motion “dedicated to ending world participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.
The federal government proscribed the group beneath the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000. Different teams banned beneath the legislation embrace armed teams resembling ISIS (ISIL), al-Qaeda and Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan.
The ban got here after activists from Palestine Motion entered the Royal Air Pressure station in Brize Norton, the UK’s largest airbase, in June 2025 and vandalised army plane with crimson paint. On the time, the group mentioned they carried out this motion since “these [Royal Air Force] plane can be utilized to refuel and have been used to refuel Israeli fighter jets.”
Prime Minister Starmer condemned the incident. “The act of vandalism dedicated at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful,” he mentioned in a submit.
Beforehand, in August 2024, Palestine Motion activists had pushed a van into Israeli defence and expertise firm Elbit’s headquarters in Bristol, inflicting intensive injury.
At about the identical time, they’d additionally spray-painted the Ministry of Defence, in central London, crimson and defaced a statue of Arthur Balfour with tomato ketchup contained in the Home of Commons. Balfour was a former Conservative prime minister who, serving as international secretary in 1917, authored the Balfour Declaration, which supported the institution of a Jewish “nationwide dwelling” in Palestine.
What has occurred for the reason that ban?
Following the ban, Palestine Motion mentioned on X that “the true crime” was not the “crimson paint being sprayed on these warplanes, however the conflict crimes which were enabled with these planes due to the UK authorities’s complicity in Israel’s genocide”.
The group added that the federal government’s transfer may threat criminalising official protest.
For the reason that ban, being a member of the group or supporting Palestine solidarity protests organised by the group within the UK was thought of an offence punishable by as much as 14 years in jail.
Final week, six folks linked to Palestine Motion had been acquitted of aggravated burglary in reference to an alleged break-in at Elbit Techniques in August 2024. The jury was unable to succeed in a verdict on costs of legal injury.
In complete, 24 activists linked to the Palestinian direct motion group arrested at completely different occasions are nonetheless awaiting trial, and lots of have been held past the utmost six-month detention limits.
A number of Palestine Motion activists launched hunger strikes late final yr, looking for higher situations in jail, rights to a good trial, and for the UK authorities to reverse its choice to ban the group.
In January, just a few of the activists ended their strike after quite a lot of their calls for had been met, whereas others ended it because of well being causes.
What are the reactions to Friday’s ruling?
The courtroom’s ruling has, nevertheless, been celebrated by folks within the nation, human rights teams, and members of the British authorities.
“This can be a monumental victory each for our elementary freedoms right here in Britain and within the wrestle for freedom for the Palestinian folks, placing down a choice that may endlessly be remembered as probably the most excessive assaults on free speech in current British historical past,” Huda Ammori, the Palestine Motion cofounder, mentioned.
John Moxham, a retired professor of drugs who was standing outdoors the courtroom on the time of the ruling, informed Al Jazeera he’s “completely delighted”.
“I really feel completely delighted as a result of my spouse was arrested for sitting down and supporting Palestine Motion. I’ve been on all of the marches and it’s only a great day,” he mentioned.
“The entire banning within the first place was only a complete travesty, and it was clearly ridiculous. It’s so great that it’s now been turned over. There must be a number of resignations of presidency ministers and other people. The prime minister and David Lammy [secretary of justice] have gotten a number of blood on their fingers.”
Anas Mustapha, head of public Advocacy at CAGE Worldwide, mentioned: “At the moment’s choice is the proper authorized consequence, although it was secured solely by principled sacrifice and collective will.
“This ruling towards the House Secretary’s choice ought to now end result within the withdrawal of costs towards all Palestine Motion activists in jail and the 1000’s who acted on their conscience, as a part of the biggest civil disobedience marketing campaign this nation has seen in recent times,” he added.
British Inexperienced Get together MP Adrian Ramsay welcomed the ruling.
“The Govt should instantly cease interfering with official peaceable protest – and as a substitute absolutely tackle its complicity within the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” he mentioned in a submit on X.
What occurs subsequent?
The British authorities has mentioned it intends to attraction the courtroom’s ruling.
“I’m upset by the courtroom’s choice and disagree with the notion that banning this terrorist organisation is disproportionate,” House Secretary Shabana Mahmood mentioned in a press release.
“I intend to combat this judgment within the Courtroom of Attraction.”
Summerfield informed Al Jazeera that the Excessive Courtroom’s ban stays in place till the federal government decides whether or not to attraction.
“The British authorities has till subsequent Friday to launch an attraction,” he mentioned.
“Assuming the federal government does attraction, the ban will stay in place a minimum of till that attraction course of has been exhausted, which could possibly be prolonged,” he added.
However rights teams have known as on the federal government to not attraction the courtroom’s choice.
“The Excessive Courtroom’s choice sends a transparent message: the Authorities can not merely attain for sweeping counter terrorism powers to suppress protest,” Amnesty Worldwide’s UK division mentioned on X.
“We welcome this judgment as an important verify on overreach and a strong reminder that elementary rights nonetheless carry weight in UK legislation,” the worldwide rights group mentioned.
“We urge the Authorities to respect the ruling and NOT to attraction this choice. We’ll proceed to reveal makes an attempt to erode our rights.”
