Supreme Court on Wednesday as justices heard the group’s challenge to its designation as a terrorist organization. LONDON — Police arrested more than two dozen supporters of activist group Palestine Action outside the U.K.
A lower court ruled that the government acted unlawfully in banning the group, but five Court of Appeal judges reversed that decision in June. London’s Metropolitan Police reviewed her post and decided it was not a crime.
The last person arrested was a woman who had held a sign reading: “God help us who are not married to the UK’s national security adviser who support Palestine and Palestine action.”
Outside the court, protesters sought to highlight what they described as a different policing standard for them and Sarah Helm, the wife of U.K. national security adviser Jonathan Powell. Because they involved property damage, a lawyer for the group told the court Wednesday that only three of its 385 actions over five years met the legal definition of terrorism, and only.
Government lawyer James Eadie said the Court of Appeal had rejected the characterization of Palestine Action as a “non-violent direct action protest group. Serious property damage could constitute terrorism without violence against people, he said.
