Palestine Action Judicial Review: 'Letting the proscription stand opens up a bleak future for protest rights in the UK'

• Three-day judicial review of Palestine Action proscription decision concludes today 
• Thousands have been arrested for peacefully protesting since the ban came into effect 

As the three-day judicial review of the UK government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action draws to a close, Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Director of Campaigns and Communications, said:  

“Amnesty International has been clear that Palestine Action should never have been proscribed.

“The Government’s ban is a disproportionate misuse of the UK’s terrorism powers and breaches articles 10 & 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights – which protect freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association.

“We have seen the chilling consequences of this decision across the country – with thousands of arrests in recent months.

"These mass arrests, and the silencing that organisations and individuals have felt, is a clear and frightening example of how the UK is misusing overly-broad terrorism laws to suppress free speech.

“Terrorism powers have never been used against what was previously direct-action protest and if this precedent is allowed to stand, it opens up a bleak future for protest rights in the UK.”