Chiswick woman charged with terrorism offence awaits her fate as High Court rules Palestine Action ban unlawful

Caroline Finkel holding the banner which got her arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation

High Court ruled on Friday the Government’s proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful and “disproportionate”

Protestors who have been charged with terrorism offences for demonstrating peacefully in support of Palestine Action are now waiting to see if they are off the hook following the High Court’s ruling on Friday (13 February) that proscribing the group was unlawful.

The Government banned Palestine Action last year, adding it to the list of proscribed terrorist organisations along with two other organisations called “Maniacs Murder Cult” and “Russian Imperial Movement” in an amendment to the Terrorism Act 2000.

The High Court decided on Friday the ban was ‘unlawful’ and “disproportionate”, but the Government is appealing the ruling, and the case will be back in court on Friday.

Caroline Finkel, a historian who lives in Chiswick, is one of thousands who have been arrested for peacefully protesting in support of Palestine Action and are now waiting to see if the charges against them will be dropped.

Caroline, who is 73, was one of the first to be arrested on 12 July last year.

“I was just standing there”, she told The Chiswick Calendar. “We were standing under the statue of Nelson Mandela, and I’d asked to borrow someone else’s placard”.

As a historian of the Ottoman empire who has published books on the subject, she is very well aware of the political background and history of Palestine.

“What’s going on is horror. It is a genocide. The evidence is out there, and our government is on the wrong side of history”, she told me. “The weapons trade makes us all complicit—and stopping that is key”.

One of her fellow demonstrators being arrested

“Our freedom of speech and freedom of protest is being narrowed”

Caroline’s intention in supporting Palestine Action by standing holding a placard at a demonstration was to draw attention to what has been happening in Gaza and the UK’s involvement.

“Our freedom of speech and freedom of protest is being narrowed”, she said.

I asked her if she would have protested for Palestine Action if she had thought they were a terrorist organisation.

“Probably not”, she said, but I knew they weren’t, so the issue didn’t arise”.

The Home Office describe Palestine Action as ‘a pro-Palestinian group with the stated aim to support Palestinian sovereignty by using direct criminal action tactics to halt the sale and export of military equipment to Israel’.

Its justification for adding it to the list of proscribed organisations was:

‘Palestine Action promotes and encourages terrorism’. ‘Its methods have become more aggressive, with its members demonstrating a willingness to use violence’.

People who damage property are usually charged with criminal damage, but severe damage to property can fall under the legal definition of terrorism and in this case the Home Office assessed the threat of damage to property as acts of terrorism.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who was Home Secretary at the time the ban was introduced, defended her controversial decision after the High Court ruling. She has hinted on several occasions that there is more to the ban than taking action to stop the destruction of property but declines to say what.

Another of her fellow demonstrators being arrested

Protestors in limbo while the High Court judgement is appealed

When the High Court judgement was announced, “everyone got quite excited about it”, Caroline told me, but they are not off the hook yet. She was charged under Section 12 of the Act with supporting a proscribed organisation, which carries a maximum six-month prison sentence. She was bailed on condition she did not enter Westminster and did not go on any more Palestine Action demonstrations.

When she appeared in court in October there were so many defendants they were processed alphabetically in batches of five.

“They had nearly 3,000 people to process. I think it’s a terrible waste of money and time, and I think the police do too”.

The Metropolitan Police have issued a statement saying the group remains proscribed pending the outcome of any Government appeal, which means expressing support is still a criminal offence.

‘From a Metropolitan Police perspective, officers will continue to identify offences where support for Palestine Action is being expressed, but they will focus on gathering evidence of those offences and the people involved to provide opportunities for enforcement at a later date, rather than making arrests at the time’.

The court proceedings for defendents due in court on Monday 16 February have been postponed. Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring explained:

“In light of Friday’s ruling we decided that there is no merit in hearing the cases until we know what is going on with the appeal.”

The cases will remain on hold until the appeal is resolved. Caroline is due back in court in May and hopes it will be resolved by then but is prepared to go to prison if she has to.

“Old people have less to lose”, she told me. “I admire young people for standing up for what they believe in”.

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar