3,000 arrests…defending Gaza turns into a “terrorism” charge against British pensioners | Politics news

London- In an unprecedented scene that reflects the highest levels of civil disobedience in Britain, the courtyard of the Royal Court of Justice in the capital, London, today, Monday, witnessed a large public turnout, in which hundreds of citizens from various regions of the country flocked.

What is striking about this movement is that the elderly, retirees, and pensioners are at the forefront of the front lines, ignoring the threats of the security services, as demonstrators traveled long distances from Scotland and Wales, and came from cities such as Glasgow to station themselves in the capital, London.

The protesters defied the risk of arrest under the Anti-Terrorism Law, motivated by a moral vision that believes that retirees face much fewer life and future obstacles than young people if they are convicted under terrorism laws.

This field mobilization coincided with the issuance of an urgent ruling by the British Court of Appeal today, which ruled to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling issued last February, and supports the decision of the Secretary of State and the government to continue banning the “Palestine Action” movement and listing it as a “terrorist organization,” a ruling that human rights activists described as “a complete liquidation of freedom of expression.”

Human shields to protect young people

The main motivation behind the “pensioners” coming forward to sit in and arrest lines is their awareness of the extent of the devastating consequences that will befall young people if the official authorities proceed to register a conviction against them under British anti-terrorism laws simply for carrying peaceful banners reading, “I am against genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

Detainees under the law risk three basic risks:

• Destruction of the professional future: Recording the terrorist crime in the criminal record of the accused, which means complete and final deprivation of any future job opportunities in the public sector, and a high probability in the private sector as well.
• Pursuit and restriction at airports: Listing the young man as a “person of constant security interest and examination” and targeting him at airports and ports under the broad powers of Appendix No. (7) of the Terrorism While Traveling Law.
• Terrorist Notification Orders: Risk of being subject to “terrorism notification orders” and close supervision (if sentenced to more than 12 months in prison).

These harsh penalties have prompted retirees to turn into “human shields,” saying that if the judiciary decides to go along with the government and risk citizens, they will not risk the future of their youth, and will receive arrests instead.

“I fully understand what is going to happen.”

In field testimonies to Al Jazeera Net, Jenny, a retired nurse who used to work in the British National Health Service, said, “I worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, and I recently retired after becoming subject to investigation due to demonstration protocols.”

Jenny added, “I have been arrested 6 times so far on terrorism charges simply for my support of the Palestine Action movement, which seeks to save lives. Throughout my medical career, our slogan has been ‘Do no harm,’ and we are here to save Palestinian lives, while young men in their prime are now being sentenced to very long prison terms because they are trying to save human lives in Gaza. Yes, I am fully aware of what will happen to me today, and it is very possible that I will be arrested for the seventh time.”

In the same context, retired nurse Karen told Al Jazeera Net, “I am also a retired nurse, and if I am arrested today, this will be the seventh time. My presence here stems from the necessity of preserving democracy in this country, because what is happening represents a sweeping attack on democracy and basic moral principles in the entire world. Our government is a disgrace.”

One of the detainees added shortly before her arrest, “They are saying that I may be prevented from visiting my close friends in Australia again, or deprived of any job in the public sector, but this does not matter at all. There are drones that make the sounds of children crying to lure people and kill them in Gaza, and those drones are manufactured here in the United Kingdom, and the young men who dismantled those factories face imprisonment for many years. If my solidarity and enduring some distress and persecution will help them, I will do so without hesitation.”

A feeling of shame

As for activist Angie Zelta, she was unable to hold back her tears as she told Al Jazeera Net, after hearing of the court’s decision to continue the ban, “We have just learned that the court has ruled to continue the movement ban. This simply means that we have a completely corrupt judicial system, and that the rise of fascism has become a tangible reality in Britain. I have been demonstrating for 50 years in defense of the climate, but I never thought that Britain would get this bad and this quickly. Our institutions and our government have been infiltrated by the Zionist lobby.” and arms industries.

Angie continued, crying: “I am crying because here in this country we suffer nothing compared to what the people there are suffering from genocide and endless wars, and Britain is a part of it. This is shameful and disgusting, and there is nothing to be proud of in this country given our colonial history. All I can say is that we must all rise up and tell the truth, whatever the consequences.”

From Wales, the famous nurse Lee Evans, who visited the Gaza Strip and the West Bank several times as a paramedic and emergency nurse, and had a famous conversation with Egyptian border guard soldiers while trying to enter Gaza in the global march, spoke about his motivations, and he told Al Jazeera Net, “I am here today as a nurse and as a brother to my family and nation in Gaza and Palestine, who I see being subjected to genocide, killing, and terrifying persecution. I saw with my own eyes the horrors of occupation, apartheid, and the killing of children in Gaza, last Friday.” They arrested dozens because they were sitting on the grass, and today I came quickly to join the comrades who are sitting here.”

3000 arrests

This movement turned into the largest civil disobedience and sit-in operation, witnessing the largest widespread arrest tactic in the modern history of England, as the number of arrests to date has exceeded 3,000 arrests of peaceful demonstrators simply for carrying banners reading “Saving lives is not terrorism” or “I oppose genocide… I support Palestine Action.”

Observers believe that this huge number represents a dilemma for the state and the judiciary, as it is practically and logistically impossible to direct terrorism charges against thousands of retirees and peaceful citizens, which makes the ban “unenforceable” and impossible on the practical level due to the extent of popular rejection. However, despite this optimistic vision, the court ruled to move forward with the legality of designating Palestine Action as a terrorist group.

Movement Foundation: We will rise to Europe

In an official and urgent statement issued after the ruling, read by British-Syrian writer and activist Lisa Minerva Lux outside the court, Hoda Amouri, co-founder of the movement, announced her challenge to the decision, saying: “We are continuing to fight to overturn one of the most extreme attacks on freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate in modern British history. We will fight against this decision everywhere, and we will ask for permission to appeal to the British Supreme Court, and if necessary, we will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.”

Amouri added in her statement, “This is the first time in British history that a peaceful civil disobedience group has been banned as a ‘terrorist’ organization, to put us on the same page as ISIS and Boko Haram, even though we do not call for violence at all, but rather we are active to save lives by disrupting Israeli weapons supplies.”

The statement also stated, “The government itself admitted during deliberations that the ban was based on the material damage to weapons factories (such as the Elbert Systems defense electronics factory), and not on the basis of violence against individuals. This ban came to protect the profits of arms companies and appease pro-Israel lobbyists, and not to fight terrorism.”

The death of judicial independence

In a sharp and direct comment on the ruling, Anas Mustafa, head of the public advocacy department from the “Kedge International” organization, told Al Jazeera Net, “This ruling proves that judicial independence has died in Britain, and that judges have turned into tools for implementing the current government’s policy.” He said that the ban on the movement was not a misstep, but rather a reflection of the fact that anti-terrorism laws were originally designed to crush any dissenting voice, and that the government, which spent two years deepening its military and economic support for a genocidal and apartheid state, has today obtained judicial cover to criminalize its citizens who object to this support.

The organization stressed that this ruling will not extinguish the flames of the street, but rather will deepen the gap between what is permitted by unjust laws and what is dictated by living human consciences, demanding the complete abolition of the broad system of anti-terrorism laws in Britain.