Protest rights are front and centre in the UK this weekend following a loss for the government in the case of Palestine Action the pro-Palestine campaign group.
The Lowdown
Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, has now found herself at the epicenter of a case that has serious implications for free speech in the United Kingdom. Her group was banned under anti-terrorism laws earlier this this year in moves by the government that sparked widespread backlash. The judge in the case ultimately found that at this time a challenge should be heard because the case interferes with free speech rights.
Judge Sue Carr per the case rejected the Home Office’s appeal on the grounds that challenging the case in the High Court was in fact quicker than the government’s suggestion that it be tried before a specialist tribunal.
Back in July, the government ordered that Palestine Action was a whole be categorized as a terrorist organization. The move makes it a crime to be a member of the group with a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. According to one Reuters report some estimates place the number of arrests over the group at over 2,000.