Lord Paul Strasburger, Chair of Big Brother Watch said on behalf of the Board:
“We are alarmed by the recent arrests of over 700 peaceful protesters for the alleged “terror crime” of publicly supporting Palestine Action. The offence carries draconian penalties – up to 14 years in prison – which is out of all proportion to their alleged crime. Even if they are never charged, those arrested face life-long penalties such as restrictions on travel abroad and reduced job opportunities.
Big Brother Watch is a UK, cross-party civil liberties campaign group that defends our country’s cherished tradition of freedom of speech. We are aware of serious allegations against a small number of individuals associated with Palestine Action. But the government has failed to publicly justify the designation of Palestine Action as a terror group or to present the public or Parliament with any evidence that the group intentionally causes injury to people rather than damage to property.
Whatever one’s views for or against Palestine Action’s cause, it would be Orwellian in the extreme to treat peaceful protestors as terrorists. We might expect it to happen in Beijing or Moscow, but not in Parliament Square in London. Doing so also puts a heavy extra burden on the police and the courts at a time when they can least afford it.
The Government must urgently provide evidence, if it has any, to justify its proscription of Palestine Action and the mass arrests on terror charges that have inevitably flowed from it. If it cannot make that case, it must rescind the proscription of Palestine Action and amend the badly written terror laws that permitted their misuse in this way.”
ENDS