Three women from Frome, who face terrorism charges for protesting with Palestine Action last year, have welcomed a High Court ruling that could see the charges dropped.
The women were arrested during protests in Bristol and London, which the campaign group says were peaceful, where they sat silently holding placards reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
The protests, organised by campaign group Defend Our Juries, have led to the arrests of more than 2,700 people after Parliament declared Palestine Action an unlawful group and criminalised supporting it under anti-terrorism law. The government’s ruling followed damage being caused to two military aircraft after activists broke into an RAF base last year.
On 13th February, High Court judges ruled that the ban on Palestine Action is unlawful, meaning the Frome women’s charges could be revoked and they are awaiting the final outcome.
One of the women said, “Far from being terrorists, we are dedicated non-violent activists who in all conscience could no longer be bystanders of the appalling Palestinian genocide. Our government is enabling mass slaughter. We felt compelled to act.”
Another added, “We are not terrorists, we are opposed to violence. But we are driven to do whatever we peacefully can to protect Palestinians from the ongoing genocide which we have all been witnessing. The government is trying to make out we are violent law breakers. “But it is the government who are serial law breakers. Civil rights activists have often found themselves arrested and jailed. But in this country this is the first time they are being branded as terrorists. Our action is also to defend our own civil rights in the UK which are under attack.”
The third woman said, “I’m not from an alternative background. I come from a ‘big C’ Conservative family. I haven’t been very political till the last few years or involved in actions like this. My chief motivation is the current government’s erosion of democracy. Like the others I felt compelled to act.”
The women said what struck them most at the protests in Parliament Square was how shocked tourists and onlookers were at the large police presence and forceful removal of peaceful protesters.
They said, “People were outraged when they saw older women like us being dragged off and arrested.
“We want people reading this not to forget Gaza. The ceasefire is not real. The genocide is ongoing. We want people to keep paying attention to Gaza and the rest of Palestine.
“Please help to keep pressure on our government to act to end the genocide and to stop attacking our own precious civil and democratic rights.
For further information, visit https://defendourjuries.net/lift-the-ban/.
