Sally Rooney, Palestine Action and a row over the freedom to protest

The arrest of more than 500 people at a Palestine Action rally in London on August 9th did more than raise the profile of the little-known anti-war action group: it raised questions about the fundamental right of British people to engage in peaceful protest, and exactly what constitutes a terrorist organisation in the eyes of the government.

The arrests were on foot of a ban in July under UK terrorism legislation which put the group in the same proscribed category as Islamic State, al-Qaeda, the IRA, the UVF and a long list of banned terror groups.

In an essay in the Irish Times last weekend, novelist Sally Rooney made her position clear.

In the piece which she says she could not legally publish in a British publication, she writes that she supports Palestine Action – including financially – and “If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it“.

The images that emerged of the arrests at the rally included those of elderly men and women with home-made “Stop the Genocide” signs and of people wearing Palestine Action T-shirts and carrying banners.

Since then, civil liberties groups have been vocal in what they say is the dangerous route the British government is following, appearing to conflate peaceful protest with terrorism.

So what is Palestine Action? Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul explains.

And he describes the scenes inside and outside the court in London on Wednesday when Belfast rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was in court facing charges of supporting a proscribed organisation by allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hizbullah at a Kneecap gig in London gig last year.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.

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