Palestine Action is set to be banned after a High Court judge refused to temporarily block it from being designated a terror group.
Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, had asked the High Court to stop the government from classifying the group as a terrorist organisation, pending a potential legal challenge to the decision to prescribe it under the Terrorism Act 2000.
The proposal, which was approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords earlier this week, would make membership and support for the direct action group a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
But despite the request, Mr Justice Chamberlain refused to block it and the move is set to come into force at midnight.
He said: ‘I have concluded that the harm which would ensue if interim relief is refused but the claim later succeeds is insufficient to outweigh the strong public interest in maintaining the order in force.’
Ms. Ammori’s legal team was also denied permission to appeal and was advised to take their case directly to the Court of Appeal.
Following the decision she said her lawyers would seek an ‘urgent appeal’ to what she labelled a ‘dystopian nightmare’.
Currently, 81 organisations are already proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Hamas, al Qaida, and National Action.
During a hearing on Friday, Raza Husain KC, representing Ms. Ammori, argued for the suspension of what he called the ‘ill-considered’ and ‘authoritarian abuse of statutory power’ until a hearing scheduled for around July 21.
Crowds gathered outside the central London court
A supporter of pro-Palestinian campaign holding a Palestinian flag in-front of the police outside London’s High Court in London
This is one of the RAF military planes that was vandalised at Brize Norton last month
Mr Husain told the London court: ‘This is the first time in our history that a direct action civil disobedience group, which does not advocate for violence, has been sought to be proscribed as terrorists.’
The barrister said that his client had been ‘inspired’ by a long history of direct action in the UK, ‘from the suffragettes, to anti-apartheid activists, to Iraq war activists’.
The hearing later in July is expected to deal with whether Ms Ammori can bring a High Court challenge over the planned proscription.
Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC, also representing Ms Ammori, told the court that there was no ‘express provision’ to protect lawyers representing her in the potential legal challenge from criminal consequences if the ban came into effect.
She also said that if the ban came into effect the harm would be ‘far-reaching’, could cause ‘irreparable harm to large numbers of members of the public’, including causing some to ‘self-censor’.
Ms Ni Ghralaigh later named Normal People author Sally Rooney, who lives abroad and ‘fears the ramifications for her, for her work, for her books, for her programmes’ if she shows support for Palestine Action.
‘Is the Prime Minister going to denounce her, an Irish artist, as a supporter of a proscribed organisation?’
Protesters having a demonstration after the decision by the High Court
Police arrest a Palestine Action activist during a solidarity protest today
In a statement issued following the judgement, the co-founder said the public were being left ‘in the dark about their rights to free speech’
Police outside the Royal Courts of Justice as Palestine Action group is banned
‘Will that have ramifications for her with the BBC, etc?’ Ms Ni Ghralaigh asked.
In his written judgment, Mr Justice Chamberlain said it was ‘ambitious’ for Palestine Action to claim it was not ‘concerned in terrorism’, as the ‘action which immediately preceded the announcement of the decision to lay a proscription order was against an RAF base’.
He also said that Ms Ammori’s arguments ‘contain at least one serious issue to be tried, namely that the order is a disproportionate interference with the rights of the claimant and others’ under the European Convention on Human Rights.
But he ruled that issuing a temporary block on the ban ‘even for a short period’ would ‘deny the public important protections which the order is intended to confer’.
He said: ‘In my judgment, some of the consequences feared by the claimant and others who have given evidence are overstated.’
In a statement issued following the judgement, the co-founder said the public were being left ‘in the dark about their rights to free speech’.
She said the ‘We are seeking an urgent appeal to try to prevent a dystopian nightmare of the Government’s making which would see thousands of people across Britain wake up tomorrow to find they had been criminalised overnight for supporting a domestic protest group which sprays red paint on warplanes and disrupts Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel’s genocidal war machine.
Pro-Palestinian activists stage a solidarity protest
Crowds gathered to show support to the group which will be now branded a ‘terror group’
‘We will not stop fighting to defend fundamental rights to free speech and protest in our country and to stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people.
‘The Home Secretary is rushing through the implementation of the proscription at midnight tonight despite the fact that our legal challenge is ongoing and that she has been completely unclear about how it will be enforced, leaving the public in the dark about their rights to free speech and expression after midnight tonight when this proscription comes into effect.’
She went on to say: ‘Hundreds of thousands of people across the country have expressed support for Palestine Action by joining our mailing list, following and sharing our social media content and signing petitions, and many, including iconic figures like Sally Rooney, say they will continue to declare “we are all Palestine Action” and speak out against this preposterous proscription, demonstrating how utterly unworkable it will be.
‘As Justice Chamberlain acknowledged in court today, it is unclear what expressions of support could lead to arrest and potential prosecution with sentences of up to 14 years in prison.
‘We would only have only a few hours to disband our entire organisation and dismantle all of our infrastructure, including closing bank accounts and deleting our mailing list and social media platforms.
‘This is despite the fact that we have not had the opportunity to defend our fundamental rights in court and challenge this unlawful, authoritarian and utterly absurd proscription.
‘If we ultimately succeed in overturning the proscription, we would have to start from scratch, having lost everything we have painstakingly built over five years.’
The red paint could also be seen on the runway, while protesters claimed they left a Palestine flag behind
Footage shows two protesters riding electric scooters across the runway at RAF Brize Norton
This is the moment red paint was allegedly sprayed into the turbine engines of the vital aircraft
The protesters supporting the activists clapped and cheered as a prison van, believed to be holding the accused, arrived at court on July 3
Ben Watson KC, for the Home Office, told the High Court there was an ‘insuperable hurdle’ in the bid to temporarily block the ban of Palestine Action.
The barrister also said that if a temporary block was granted, it would be a ‘serious disfigurement of the statutory regime’.
He said Palestine Action could challenge the Home Secretary’s decision at the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission, a specialist tribunal, rather than at the High Court.
Friday’s hearing comes after an estimated £7million worth of damage was caused to two Voyager planes at RAF Brize Norton on June 20, in an action claimed by Palestine Action.
Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22, are accused of conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
They were remanded into custody after appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and will appear at the Old Bailey on July 18.
The hearing before Mr Justice Chamberlain will conclude later on Friday, with the High Court judge expected to give his decision at the end of the hearing.
A further hearing to decide whether Ms Ammori will be given the green light to challenge the decision to ban Palestine Action is expected to be heard later this month.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two planes was ‘disgraceful’ and that the group had a ‘long history of unacceptable criminal damage’.
This is a breaking news story, it’ll be updated soon.
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