Half of those arrested were aged 60 or over, data has revealed
Police arrested 532 people over the weekend at a protest linked to the now-proscribed group Palestine Action.
According to Metropolitan police figures, over half of those who were arrested were aged 60 or above, including 100 in their 70s and 15 in their 80s.
A blind disabled man was also among those arrested. Labour has come in for fierce criticism for proscribing Palestine Action last month and for the mass arrests at the weekend.
Saturday’s protest was organised by Defend Our Juries, which is campaigning to have the ban lifted through “mass actions” where protesters hold signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Since it was proscribed as a terrorist organisation, it is now an offence to show support for Palestine Action. All but 10 of the arrests were for displaying supportive placards or signs.
In a social media post, Defend Our Juries said that 474 people had been arrested so far, but that hundreds more left before it was due to end. It added that “the sheer numbers of people” made it “extremely difficult” for police to enforce the ban.
In a later statement, the group said: “We can now confirm that every arrestee from the Lift The Ban sign-holding action has been released. None have been charged.”
On X, former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who is setting up a new left-wing party with Jeremy Corbyn, praised the protesters, writing: “Heroes. Every single one of them.
“Keir Starmer, Yvette Cooper, David Lammy — and the rest of this Labour government enabling genocide — aren’t fit to lace their boots.”
Moazzam Begg, an ex-Guantanamo prisoner, who was arrested on suspicion of being an al-Qaeda member and later released without charge, attended the protest and was among those arrested.
He said: “I’m no stranger to arrests under nonsensical terror laws. But yesterday was something else.
“Under the statue of Gandhi in Parliament Square, I was one of 474 silent protesters arrested by an army of police.”
In a statement following the mass arrests, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the government’s decision, saying: “UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority”.
She added: “The assessments are very clear – this is not a non-violent organisation”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: Flickr – Steve Eason
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