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Thousands of Brits, including leading barristers, have signed an open letter to Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper opposing the planned ban on Palestine Action.
The letter argues that in banning the non-violent civil disobedience group, the Government is dangerously “conflating peaceful protest with the real dangers of genuine terrorism”. The move is set to become law by Saturday July 5.
The lawyers and signatories condemn the “double standards” of the Government, arguing they are “seeking to criminalise direct action whilst themselves at risk of breaching international law, given the International Court of Justice’s findings of plausible genocide in Gaza.” And they argue a ban would be a “drain on public resources” adding an “unjustified burden on the justice system” through criminalising potentially thousands of pro-Palestine activists who back the group.
“It is our hope that the Home Secretary will recognise both the moral arguments and the strength of feeling in civil society in this matter and resile from this proscription,” the spokesperson added.
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Backers will be handing over the letter to the Home Secretary at Parliament on Wednesday July 2, before the vote in the House of Commons.
A spokesperson for the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, which coordinated the letter, said: “In a few days our letter to the Home Secretary has been endorsed by a coalition of thousands of diverse voices ranging from stonemasons to vicars, KCs, Peers, MPs, actors, teachers, trade unions and campaigners for peace and justice.”
Two other groups will be banned this week, Russian neo-Nazi groups the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC/MKU) and the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).
It will make it a criminal offence to be a member of one of these groups or to “invite or recklessly express support” for them, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The Government said in a statement today that the move to ban PA follows “its orchestration and enaction of aggressive and intimidatory attacks against businesses, institutions and the public, which has crossed the thresholds established in the Terrorism Act 2000,” particularly following the break-in to the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire, allegedly by Palestine Action, earlier this month.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added: “National security is the first duty of any government, we will always take the action needed to protect our democracy and national security against different threats…
“The right to protest and the right to free speech are the cornerstone of our democracy and there are countless campaign groups that freely exercise those rights. Violence and serious criminal damage has no place in legitimate protests.”
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Joint Letter Opposing Government Moves to Outlaw Palestine Action
Dear Home Secretary, we, as individuals or as organisations representing a broad spectrum of civil society and the legal community, are writing to you, in response to the threat of proscribing the grassroots solidarity and direct action group, Palestine Action.
The United Kingdom has a long and proud history of direct action that opposes military intervention. From Greenham Common to the 2 million marching in London against the invasion of Iraq, British governments of different political persuasions have respected people’s right to peacefully protest.
Indeed, as the leading case of R v Jones makes clear: “The appellants acted as they did because they wished to impede, obstruct or disrupt the commission of that crime, or what they believed would be the commission of that crime, by Her Majesty’s Government or the Government of the United States against Iraq in the weeks and days before (as we now know) hostilities began.”
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Any attempt to criminalise peaceful direct action including by mislabelling it as ‘terrorism” would raise grave concerns, some of which are listed below for your consideration:
It would be unwise to blur the very clear lines between peaceful protest and terrorism by using misleading rhetoric. This conflation can underplay the credible dangers of genuine terrorism, legitimise terrorism in the eyes of those members of the public who support this cause, and confer unjustified renown on groups that are unfairly proscribed.
In a series of acts contrary to international law, the UK govt appears to be using the RAF Brize Norton base to onward service RAF Akrotiri that in turn is used by our allies and the UK to facilitate what the ICJ has found to be a plausible genocide in Gaza. As a state party to the Genocide Convention, facilitating such a genocide would be a particularly egregious breach of international law, by the UK. The UK government, by simultaneously seeking to criminalise those peacefully protesting this genocide using proscription, is further doubling down on these acts, rather than remedying these errors of judgment, as it should.
Even if it were assessed by the Home Secretary that measures are needed to be taken to deal with this particular direct action group, a wide range of more proportionate, proven and effective remedies are available to her.
The Law That Will Allow the UK Government to Ban Palestine Action
The ban will make it illegal to support the civil disobedience group, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison
Having to enforce and police the proscription of Palestine Action would create a disproportionate strain on police resources and an ensuing additional and unjustified burden on the justice system to enforce such a proscription. It would leave many ordinary members of the public vulnerable – for example, simply wearing a t-shirt saying “I support Palestine Action” would be seen as violating the proscription and action would need to be taken.
There are many dangers to proscribing peaceful direct action groups, even if their objectives are those some of us may disagree with. Current and future governments may misuse this precedent to attack other interest groups in future, offering no avenues for peacefully venting dissent. Bottling public anger and frustration creates the breeding ground for violence by or against members of the public.
It is our hope that the Home Secretary will recognise both the moral arguments and the strength of feeling in civil society in this matter and resile from this proscription
Sincerely,
- Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
- Michael Mansfield KC (Haldane President)
- Lord John Hendy KC
- Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC (Hon)
- Liz Davies KC
- Good Law Project
- Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas
- George Monbiot
- Peter Tatchell
- John McDonnell MP
- Jeremy Corbyn MP
- Dr Ghada Karmi
- Imran Khan KC
- Prof Haim Bresheeth
- Carolyn Jones, Institute of Employment Rights
- Andrew Feinstein
And around 3,000 others.
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