Since the controversial ban on July 7, more than 700 people have been held during peaceful demonstrations.
London metropolitan police say that at least 60 people will face prosecution for “showing support” for Palestine’s action, the group of activists prohibited the “terrorist organization” last month for protesting the Israel genocide in Gaza. Three others have already been charged.
“We have implemented arrangements that will allow us to investigate and pursue important figures each week if necessary,” the strength said in a press release.
Since the controversial ban on July 7, more than 700 people have been detained during peaceful demonstrations, including 522 arrested during a demonstration last weekend for having held the panels supporting the group, considered as the greatest number of arrests during a single demonstration in the history of the capital.
Critics, including the United Nations, Amnesty International and Greenpeace, qualified the prohibition to overcome which risks stifling freedom of expression.
Director of public prosecution, Stephen Parkinson, said that the latest decisions were the “first significant figures” of recent demonstrations, adding: “Many others can be expected in the coming weeks. People should be clear about the real consequences for anyone who chooses to support the action of Palestine. ”
The British Commission for Equality and Human Rights has also warned of a “heavy” approach, urging the government and the police to guarantee that the protest police are proportionate and guided by clear legal tests.
The first three proceedings earlier this month came arrests during a demonstration in July, the defendants accused under the law on terrorism. Police said convictions for such offenses may have sentences of up to six months in prison, as well as other sanctions.
Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley congratulated the rapid coordination between officers and prosecutors, saying that he was “proud of the way our police and CPS teams worked so quickly to overcome erroneous attempts to overwhelm the judicial system”.
The Minister of the Home Office, Yvette Cooper, defended the Labor government’s decision to proscribe action in Palestine, declaring: “British national security and public security must always be our absolute priority. The evaluations are very clear, it is not a non -violent organization. ”
The group was prohibited a few days after claiming the responsibility of a break -in in an Air Force base in the south of England, which, according to the government, caused around 7 million pounds ($ 9.3 million) in damage to two planes. The Ministry of the Interior accused him of other “serious attacks” involving “violence, significant injuries and many criminal damage”.
Palestine Action said that her actions target indirect military support from the United Kingdom to Israel in the middle of the war in Gaza.
The Liberal Democrats of the United Kingdom expressed a “deep concern” concerning the use of “anti-terrorist powers” against peaceful demonstrators.
Hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated in several British cities for almost two years, calling at the end of the War of Israel against Gaza and the British government to arrest all arms sales in the country.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last month that the United Kingdom will recognize Palestine’s state by September, unless Israel takes “substantial measures” to end his war against Gaza and committed to a sustainable peace process. Many of those who protested to end the Palestinian suffering said that this decision was too little, too late.
