As the arrests took place under the Terrorism Act 2000, the attorney general makes the decision on how the legal cases should proceed, rather than the Crown Prosecution Service. The five signatories – Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Human Rights Watch, Global Witness and the Quakers – recommend that he wait until the judicial review of the proscription order, due to take place in November this year, has concluded, to avoid having to undo what could potentially be a major miscarriage of justice. The letter highlights the argument being made in the judicial review that the proscription of Palestine Action and its legal consequences constitute a disproportionate interference with human rights.

By classifying Palestine Action as a terrorist group, the government has made expressing support for them a crime under the Terrorism Act. Hundreds of people, including over 500 on Saturday the 9 August, have been arrested under suspicion of breaking this prohibition, protesting in order to assert their right to free speech and against the government’s extension of ‘terrorism’ to include property damage by protest groups. 

Defend Our Juries, who organised the protest on the 9th, has received legal advice that the arrestees may be entitled to bring cases of wrongful arrest should the proscription be overturned.

Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Hundreds of people are facing potential prison sentences for sitting quietly holding placards. It isn’t difficult to see why this could be a disproportionate restriction on people’s freedom of expression, and why so many legal experts have expressed their concern at the government’s decision to extend their definition of terrorism in this way. We urge the Attorney General to approach the matter with care and some caution, and not prejudge the outcome of a Judicial Review which could fundamentally change the legal position of these protestors.”

Asad Rehman, executive director of Friends of the Earth, said: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of any healthy democracy. With the group’s designation still under legal challenge, the Attorney General should hold off on any prosecution decisions until the outcome of the Judicial Review is known. Rushing ahead risks setting a precedent that could have lasting consequences for protest rights and could prove to be shocking miscarriages of justice for the individuals involved.”