Critics say ban on activist group stifles freedom of speech and assembly and aims to curb pro-Palestine demonstrations.Police in London say they have arrested at least 200 people at a protest in support of the group Palestine Action, which was classified as a “terror organisation” by the British government last month.The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday that 200 demonstrators had been arrested at Parliament Square “for showing support for a proscribed organisation”.“It will take time, but we will arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action,” the police force said in an earlier post on X.The arrests are the latest at a series of protests denouncing the government’s ban on Palestine Action, a move critics say infringes on freedom of speech and the right to protest, as well as aims to stifle demonstrations against Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.Under the Terrorism Act 2000, membership in or support for the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.Reporting from Parliament Square on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego said the threat of arrest or punishment “hasn’t deterred any supporters” of Palestine Action from expressing their backing for the group.“Something as simple as wearing a t-shirt saying, ‘I support Palestine Action’, or even having that written on a sheet of paper” could lead to an arrest, Gallego said. Police officers detain protesters during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of ‘Palestine Action’ [Jaimi Joy/Reuters]In advance of Saturday’s protest, more than 200 people had been detained in a wave of demonstrations across …
