Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Police confirmed 890 terrorism-related arrests nationwide, with Croydon activists among those detained in the UK’s latest security crackdown.
Following directives from the Labour administration to stifle free speech while actual crimes were being committed throughout the capital, the Metropolitan Police made hundreds of pointless arrests at Westminster on Saturday, including activists from Croydon and nearby south London boroughs.
During the protest against the government’s ban on the advocacy group Palestine Action, 890 individuals were arrested, including OAPs, clergy, and disabled persons, some of whom were in wheelchairs.
Some local activists were being arrested for the second time in at least two cases. Further action for violating bail terms may result from the second arrest made under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
After being taken from Parliament Square to police vans waiting on Millbank, many of the arrested were taken to police stations located throughout London so that their cases could be handled. This usually took around six hours, and while being detained in a police cell, people who were arrested were given a choice of meals. On Saturday, others were held overnight.
Former GLC member and seasoned campaigner David White was among those arrested. He refused to cooperate, so officers dragged him across Parliament Square to a van, causing the greatest jeers and cries of “Shame!” that I heard during the day, according to an eyewitness.
White is scheduled to appear at a south London police station in November after being freed on police bail on Saturday.
According to a statement issued by the Met,
“All 857 individuals arrested for Terrorism Act Offences will now be investigated by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command… the Met has worked closely with the CPS to speed up the process for securing charges against people arrested for showing support for a proscribed organisation.”
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart, who led the policing operation, said:
“We have a duty to enforce the law without fear or favour. If you advertise that you are intending to commit a crime, we have no option but to respond accordingly.”
According to police, 17 people were also arrested for assaulting cops “after the protest turned violent,” but the majority of the arrests were made for aiding a group that was prohibited by the Terrorism Act.
However, demonstrators were “peacefully defying the ban,” according to the event organizers, who also charged that the Met Police were making “false claims” about violence.
According to our juries, officers attempted to arrest more than a thousand people for carrying cardboard signs by “violently assaulting[ing] peaceful protesters, including the elderly.” Protect Videos from Our Juries show instances where police forcefully push elderly demonstrators to the ground.
The group’s spokeswoman had previously stated that “opposition to this absurd ban continues to grow exponentially.”
The Met acknowledged in a statement that it was not fulfilling its obligations to apprehend criminals by prioritizing the police of protests over free expression. To the detriment of the Londoners who depend on them, the Met said that policing the protests “required significant resources which took officers out of neighborhoods.”
The protest on Saturday comes after a large-scale event last month in which over 500 people were arrested for holding signs in favor of Palestine Action.
The majority of arrests (147) were made of adults between the ages of 60 and 69, with the average age of those detained at the August event being 54.
In her defense of Palestine Action’s ban as Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper claimed that some of the group’s followers “don’t know the full nature” of the organization.
In Friday’s cabinet reshuffle, Cooper was transferred to the Foreign Office. Her “disastrous” ban “must go with her,” according to Defend Our Juries.
How might these mass arrests affect future protests and legal challenges against the ban?
A considerable number of arrests and the threat of lengthy terrorism charges may have the effect of dissuading people from taking part in future protests, chilling free speech and the right to peaceful assembly through fear of prosecution or strict bail conditions.
The ban and arrests have already initiated judicial review proceedings challenging whether the ban on Palestine Action constitutes a lawful and proportionate restriction on rights to free expression and peaceful protest under the European Convention on Human Rights. The results of these proceedings will go a long way to determining whether the ban is legitimate and can be enforced.
The intention of the ban and the arrests is to disrupt Palestine Action and anyone associated with it.