The ban means that now becoming a member of “Palestine Action”, supporting it or expressing an opinion in its favor will be considered a crime
Staff reporter Daily Dawn + Dawn TV report
London: The British court has rejected the request to lift the ban on the “Palestine Action Group”, after which membership of the group will be punishable by imprisonment.
A request was made in the British High Court to lift the ban on the Palestine Action Group.
High Court judge Justice Chamberlain wrote in his decision that if the ban is not temporarily stopped and the group’s appeal is later accepted, the harm caused by it is less than the importance of maintaining the order in the public interest.
Upon which the group immediately approached the Court of Appeal against the decision, but the appeal was also dismissed on Friday night.
Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Lord Justice Lewis and Lord Justice Eads said in their ruling that the power to ban a group does not lie with the court but with the Secretary of State, who is accountable to Parliament.
It should be noted that the UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the ban on Palestine Action on June 23, saying that the damage to two warplanes was shameful, and that the group had been involved in ongoing criminal activities.
The ban means that membership of, support for or expression of opinion in favour of “Palestine Action” will now be a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Background to the case:
The move comes after “Palestine Action” claimed responsibility for damaging two warplanes at RAF Brize Norton last month, causing damage worth around £7 million.
The group’s lawyer argued in court that the ban was an ill-advised and authoritarian move.
He told the court that this was the first time in British history that a peaceful civil disobedience protest group, which does not advocate violence, had been designated as a terrorist group.
Following the ban, Palestine Action now joins the 81 organisations banned by the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000. They include groups such as Hamas, Al-Qaeda and National Action.
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