The co-founder of Palestine Action has won permission to challenge the ban against the group at the UK’s highest court.
The direct action group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July last year but its co-founder, Huda Ammori, has been fighting to have the ban overturned amid a mass civil disobedience campaign.
In February, the high court ruled that the ban was disproportionate and unlawful but its decision was overturned by the court of appeal last month.
On Thursday, the supreme court said Ammori could appeal against the court of appeal’s decision and that the case would be heard in the final quarter of this year.
It means the fate of more than 3,500 people who have been arrested for alleged support of Palestine Action since the ban remains in limbo as their cases are on hold until the legality of proscription has been definitely resolved.
Ammori welcomed the supreme court’s decision, saying: “The proscription of Palestine Action has become a vehicle for a far broader crackdown on expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“This unprecedented attack on free speech and the right to protest in this country is already having a chilling effect at a time when speaking out about Israel’s crimes could not be more urgent.”
She appealed directly to the supreme court to hear the case after the court of appeal’s decision refused permission to appeal against its own decision within hours of the application.
The court of appeal review was comprised of five judges, which is unusual as it normally consists of two or three. It included the country’s two most senior judges: the lady chief justice, Sue Carr, and the master of the rolls, Geoffrey Vos.
The supreme court said it was arguable that the ban represented a disproportionate interference with articles 10 and 11 of the European convention on human rights, which protect the rights of freedom of speech and protest respectively.
Ammori has pledged to challenge the ban, which has been widely condemned by civil liberties groups, as well as by UN experts and politicians from across the divide, at the European court of human rights if it is upheld by the UK courts.
As the supreme court’s decision was published, dozens more people were arrested for allegedly supporting, being a member of and/or encouraging others to join Palestine Action.
In a demonstration outside Westminster magistrates court in central London, protesters took turns to stand up and declare their support for or membership of Palestine Action.
Many of the mainly elderly protesters lay down after speaking and were carried away by officers. Among those arrested was an 87-year-old woman in a wheelchair.
Sir Jonathon Porritt was one of those arrested for showing support for Palestine Action, according to the activist group Defend Our Juries.
Porritt, 76, is a former director of Friends of the Earth and was an adviser to the Prince of Wales – now King Charles – for more than 30 years.
Dick Scroop, 79, from Wolverhampton, was one of those who was there to be arrested.
He said: “There’s a genocide in which the British government is deeply implicated by its diplomatic efforts and the continuing supply of weapons to Israel, and the attempt to suppress legitimate protests by the wielding of anti-terrorism laws is simply unacceptable. It’s an assault on free speech.”
By inviting support for Palestine Action, and expressing membership of the group, the protesters risk up to 14 years’ imprisonment in trials before a jury, a significant escalation from most of the previous arrests for holding placards which will be dealt with by magistrates and risk a maximum of six months in jail.
Many arrested on Thursday had previously been arrested for holding placards allegedly supporting Palestine Action.
A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “Officers have arrested 77 people. The majority of arrests have been for expressing support for a proscribed organisation.
“Four people have been arrested for encouraging or assisting a criminal offence. Police officers remain at the scene and continue to make arrests.”
