Friends in protest against PA ban
‘A dreadful overreach.’
At least sixteen Quakers were arrested at a protest against the decision to ban the group Palestine Action (PA). Around 1,500 people attended the Parliament Square protest on 7 September. Laura Wirtz, from Quaker Palestine Solidarity, told the Friend: ‘Fifty to sixty Friends gathered for Meeting for Worship in the Friends House garden and then joined the “Stop Starving Gaza” national march through Central London. At the same time, in Parliament Square, twenty-five Friends met to hold a vigil alongside Quakers taking part in the Lift the Ban action.’
Quakers observed that ‘the police parked their vans some distance away which gave more space for some people to attempt “de-arresting”. The people doing this were separate from the Defend our Juries action but tended to be prominent in the news reports. There was more tension generally [because of parallel protests and events]. Quakers [and others] held the silence apart from encouraging people to applaud arrestees. Quakers witnessed police heavy-handedness, including… twenty-one officers [making] one arrest. Paul Ingram, of Reigate Meeting, observed the contrast that those in silent Quaker contemplation were arrested for terrorism offences, with a potentially heavier penalty than those arrested for physically trying to stop the police.’
The Metropolitan Police said that 857 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act, while thirty-three were arrested for other offences, including assaults on police officers.
At least sixteen Quakers were arrested at a protest on 9 August. Most appear to be awaiting charges.
Chrissie Aslett, from Bradford Upon Avon Meeting, told the Friend that she was arrested for sitting with a placard which read: ‘I oppose Genocide, I support Palestine Action’ outside the BBC in Cardiff on 12 August. ‘I sat with one other Quaker and eleven others. We sat silently for an hour and towards the end… many police vans drew up and we were each systematically arrested. But, unlike the arrests in London and other cities, we were arrested under section 12 of the Terrorism Act which holds a penalty of fourteen years imprisonment. We were taken to Merthyr police station where we were held for twenty-seven hours… During this time we were interviewed and our house was searched for 1.5 hours by three officers. [All this] felt a dreadful overreach by the police but I am proud to have stood up and spoken Truth to Power.’
Yvette Cooper, then-home secretary, said that PA had been proscribed ‘based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage’. The group has denied these allegations.
