The High Court of England and Wales has ruled that the proscription from the Palestine Action organization es illegal. The sentence represents an important victory for the pro-Palestinian group, which was included in the list of terrorist organizations last July for your calls “direct actions” in the United Kingdom, including the emergence of several activists in a Israeli arms factory and at the Brize Norton base of the british air force. The judges have ordered, however, that the ban remain in force pending the Labor Government presenting a appealsomething that has already been confirmed.
The three magistrates assure in the ruling that the ban on the organization is “disproportionate”despite the fact that some of their actions can be framed within the definition of terrorism. “The nature and magnitude of Palestine Action’s activities that fall within the definition of terrorism are still have not reached the levelmagnitude and persistence that justify their banning“, indicates the brief. The court considers that the group promotes its political cause “by promoting crime”, but points out that this is not enough to include it on the list of terrorist organizations, which includes organizations such as Al Qaeda or the Islamic State (ISIS).
The banning of Palestine Action, proposed by the Labor Government and supported by Parliament, had sparked a wave of protests across the country in recent months. More than 2.700 personas of sido detained for showing their solidarity with the organization through t-shirts or banners, actions that could be punished with up to 14 years in prison. “This is a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and for the fight for freedom of the Palestinian people, as it overturns a decision that will always be remembered as one of the attacks more extreme against freedom of expression in the recent history of Great Britain,” said the co-founder of the organization. Huda Ammori.
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The legal battle, however, continues. The Minister of the Interior, Shabana Mahmoodhas shown his “disappointment” by the court’s decision and has announced that the Government will appeal the sentence. “The banning of Palestine Action was the result of a process decision making Rigorous and evidence-basedsupported by Parliament. The ban does not prevent peaceful protests in support of the Palestinian cause, another point on which the court agrees,” he indicated in a statement.
Although the organization will remain banned until the appeal is resolved, the activists have shown their satisfaction with what has been their second big victory in court in less than two weeks. Earlier this month, another court declared not guilty of aggravated robbery to the six people who participated in the action in the armament factory from the company Elbit Systems UK in August 2024. An outcome that the members of Palestine Action trust will be repeated in the other cases that remain open, including that of the Brize Norton military base.
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