Today, I will be in Parliament Square to demand that the UK government uphold our right to freedom of speech, and to denounce the genocide that the Israeli government is perpetrating in Gaza against the Palestinian people.
As a human rights defender, a mother, grandmother and great-great grandmother who has denounced genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing throughout the world, I cannot remain silent, witnessing the genocide and the abhorrent starvation of the Palestinian people.
I will be holding a sign that will read: “The UK Government is in flagrant violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.’”
Volker Türk, UN human rights chief, stated that “[the proscription of Palestine Action] appears to constitute an impermissible restriction on those rights that are at odds with the UK’s obligations under international human rights law.”
Since 5 July, when the order proscribing the Palestine Action protest group under terrorism legislation came into force, hundreds of people have been arrested for holding up peaceful signs motivated by their consternation and horror at the genocide in Gaza.
I was shocked to see 83-year-old Reverend Sue Parfitt on television being arrested on the day that Palestine Action was proscribed. Reverend Parfitt was attending a demonstration in Parliament Square, sitting in a camp chair around fellow protesters holding a placard stating her support of the outlawed protest group.
While being carried away by police, Reverend Parfitt described the ban as “total nonsense”, and went on to add that it symbolised a “loss of civil liberties in this country”.
Some have had their homes raided by the police. No one arrested seemed to pose any threat to the public.
Türk has also said that the UK’s counter-terrorism legislation “misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism to expand it beyond those clear boundaries, to encompass further conduct that is already criminal under the law”.
He added: “The decision also conflates protected expression and other conduct with acts of terrorism and so could readily lead to further chilling effects on the lawful exercise of these rights by many people.”
Yesterday, Amnesty International wrote to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, stating that arresting protesters would violate international law:
“The arrest of otherwise peaceful protesters solely for expressing the statement “I Oppose Genocide – I Support Palestine Action” is a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“Further arrests [carried out on the 9 August demonstration] would violate international human rights law. As such, we urge you to instruct your officers to comply with the UK’s international obligations and act with restraint in their response to any such protests that occur, by not arresting protesters who are merely carrying placards that state they oppose genocide and support Palestine Action.”
The European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights recently wrote a paper, supported by numerous legal advocacy groups, that states: “Evidence suggests active and sustained cooperation between the UK and Israeli armies. Concerns surround reports that the UK military has carried out over 500 surveillance flights around Gaza since December 2023, sharing intelligence with Israel – including during the ceasefire.”
Only yesterday, further evidence emerged of the RAF’s ongoing support for Israel: “Britain continues to run near daily surveillance flights over Gaza with the help of a US contractor at a time of growing questions about how the intelligence obtained is used and shared with the Israeli military.
“Specialist flight trackers estimate that RAF Shadow aircraft have run more than 600 flights over the Palestinian territory from the Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus in an attempt to locate the remaining hostages held by Hamas since December 2023.”
Palestine Action is being punished for exposing the crimes of the British government and taking action to uphold international law. We cannot turn a blind eye to the horrific crimes against humanity that are being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza. I will be joining the demonstration in Parliament Square to oppose genocide and defend human rights and freedom of speech.
Bianca Jagger is the founder and president of the BIanca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, a Council of Europe goodwill ambassador, and a member of the executive director’s leadership council of Amnesty International USA
