Miliband Says 3,700 Palestine Action Arrests Were Not Meant to Criminalize Elderly Supporters
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 29
Miliband Says 3,700 Palestine Action Arrests Were Not Meant to Criminalize Elderly Supporters
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 29
Summary
Ed Miliband said the ban on Palestine Action was never intended to criminalize “elderly people, vicars and grannies” arrested for showing support for the group.
More than 3,700 people have reportedly been arrested since the direct-action group was proscribed under the Terrorism Act in July last year, including 82 at a protest outside Labour’s conference on Sunday.
Liverpool activists confronted Miliband later that day at a Pizza Express, and Defend Our Juries said his remarks amounted to an admission that the proscription had a disproportionate effect on free speech.
A Supreme Court challenge to the ban is scheduled for Nov. 4-5, with campaigners arguing the measure unlawfully restricts freedom of speech and protest.