“As of 9pm, 466 people had been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action”, the Metropolitan Police wrote on X on Saturday.
Large crowds turned up for demonstrations organized by Defend Our Juries on Saturday afternoon at London’s Parliament Square.
One 80-year-old protestor from Surrey, England, who wished to remain anonymous, told CNN that she attended the protest to show “what a farce” the government’s decision on Palestine Action was.
She said organizers were aiming to have at least 500 people sitting peacefully with signs. “I watched a few being carried off by police but there simply weren’t enough police to arrest all”, she added.
The demonstration organizers said on social media that upwards of one thousand people attended the protest, “holding up signs that read I oppose Genocide, I support Palestine Action ” in a mass display of defiance against (British Home Secretary) Yvette Cooper’s ban”.
A CNN team on the ground witnessed scuffles between protestors and police, as demonstrators were arrested and taken away for supporting Palestine Action. Onlookers were heard shouting “shame on you”.
Amnesty International UK condemned the arrest of peaceful protesters as “a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly”, in a post on X.
More than 350 academics from around the world have also signed an open letter published this week, welcoming the “growing campaign of collective resistance” against Cooper’s decision to ban Palestinian action.
