London, United Kingdom. London’s Court of Appeal ruled on Monday that the British government lawfully banned the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation because of its support for violence. The decision overturned a High Court ruling from February that had found the ban unlawfully interfered with freedom of expression.
Appeal court overturns lower court ruling
Palestine Action was proscribed under terrorism laws last year after increasingly targeting Israel-linked defence companies in Britain, with a particular focus on Israel’s largest defence firm Elbit SystemsESLT.TA.
In February, London’s High Court ruled, following a legal challenge by the group’s co-founder, that the ban unlawfully interfered with freedom of expression, though the group remained proscribed while the government appealed.
On Monday, five senior judges on the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, ruling that although banning a group such as Palestine Action was “highly controversial”, it was proportionate.
Judges cite promotion of unlawful violence
The judges rejected the argument that Palestine Action followed in the tradition of protesters such as the suffragettes or campaigns against apartheid and the Iraq war.
“It is a fundamental mistake to overlook the fact that Palestine Action overtly promoted unlawful violence amounting to terrorism,” Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr, the most senior judge in England and Wales, said.
“It is not a direct action civil disobedience protest group operating transparently in the open. It is a covert organisation which avoids the detection and prosecution of those using violence to destroy property and cause injury.”
Co-founder plans further challenge
Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, had said the proscription imposed “severe restrictions on the fundamental free speech and assembly rights of vast numbers of people” who supported the Palestinian cause.
Ammori said she would seek to challenge Monday’s ruling at the UK Supreme Court.
