LONDON (Reuters) – Police said on Saturday they had arrested 523 people at a protest in London's Trafalgar Square opposing Britain's banning of the Palestine Action group.
London's Metropolitan Police said in a post on X that people were arrested for showing support for a "proscribed organisation".
The gathering was the first since London's High Court ruled in February that a ban designating the pro-Palestinian group as a terrorist organisation was unlawful. UK Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood has been granted approval to appeal the ruling.
Lawmakers banned Palestine Action – which accuses Britain's government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza – under anti-terrorism legislation last July after some members broke into a Royal Air Force base.
Israel has repeatedly denied any abuses in its war in Gaza.
During Saturday's demonstration, placard-holding protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves and waving Palestinian flags, sat on the ground or on camping chairs.
Police said the arrests were linked to a protest organised by Defend Our Juries, alleging participants showed support for a banned organisation, referring to Palestine Action.
Authorities later confirmed that the demonstration had ended and participants had dispersed from Trafalgar Square in central London.
“Officers are continuing to process those arrested, and investigations remain ongoing,” police said.
Defend Our Juries, posting on the social media platform X, accused police of “knowingly and unlawfully arresting peaceful protesters” for carrying placards reading: “I oppose genocide – I support Palestine Action.”
Amnesty UK condemned the arrests as “another blow to civil liberties,” pointing to a February High Court ruling that deemed the ban on Palestine Action unlawful. “This is not policing. This is the state criminalising dissent,” the group said on X.
Despite the court’s decision, the Metropolitan Police had announced it would continue arresting individuals expressing support for Palestine Action.
The group was banned last July under the Terrorism Act after activists entered a Royal Air Force base and spray-painted two aircraft, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.44 million) in damage, according to police. Since then, hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists have been arrested across the UK.
Human rights groups, along with UN experts, have criticized what they describe as an escalating crackdown on peaceful protest, urging the government to lift the ban on Palestine Action.