Police say over 500 arrested at pro-Palestinian rally in London

Police in London said they had arrested more than 500 proPalestinian protesters at a demonstration in support of the banned group Palestine Action on SaturdayOfficers carried away activists to cheers and clapping from other demonstrators who gathered for the sitdown demonstration in the capitals Trafalgar SquareThe protesters held placards in support of the banned group Palestine Action making them liable for arrest Updates on the Defend our Juries activity will be shared on this threadPalestine Action remains a proscribed organisation and any expression of support for it constitutes a criminal offencehttpstcoKYrG3ZEgBumdash Metropolitan Police metpoliceuk April 11 2026Londons Metropolitan Police said on social media platform X just before midnight that they had arrested 523 people aged between 18 and 87Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July making it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group punishable by up to 14 years in prisonThe High Court in London upheld a challenge to the ban in midFebruary saying it had interfered with the right to freedom of speechThe government has been granted leave to appeal against the decisionLondons Metropolitan Police paused arrests in the wake of the High Court ruling before announcing in late March that they would resumeIts really important to continue to show up said Freya 28 manager of a London environmental organisation one of those sitting towards the front of the crowd of protestersIts important that we all continue to oppose genocide The government might flipflop in their legal argument but the morals of these people here do not change she saidMisguided crackdownThere have been nearly 3000 arrests since the ban on Palestine Action was imposed mainly for carrying placards defending it Hundreds of people are facing chargesProtester Denis MacDermot 73 from Edinburgh said he had been arrested before and had no hesitation about turning out againIm a supporter of these great people he said waving towards other protesters adding that if the court process was definitive there would be no need for all thisProtest organisers Defend Our Juries said hundreds of people had taken part in Saturdays demonstration protesting against the UK Governments complicity in Israels genocide in Gaza and the misguided crackdown on peaceful protest at homePolice were choosing to make arrests despite the governments ban on the group being ruled unlawful by the High Court and leading lawyers warning that any arrests would be unlawful it added in a statementAmnesty UK condemned the arrests as yet another blow to civil liberties in this countryThe Met rightly said it would stop making arrests It has now gone back to its old failed policy mass arrests of people holding pieces of card including today an elderly woman with walking sticks it said in a statement on XThe ban which put Palestine Action on a blacklist that also includes Palestinian militants Hamas and the Iranbacked Lebanese group Hezbollah has sparked severe backlashA judge has put on hold all trials of people charged with supporting Palestine Action scheduling a blanket review of cases for July 30Set up in 2020 Palestine Actions stated goal on its nowblocked website is to end global participation in Israels genocidal and apartheid regimeIt has mainly targeted weapons factories especially those belonging to the Israeli defence group Elbit SystemsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever