Getty ImagesFormer first minister Humza Yousaf has called for Scotland’s top law officer to exempt peaceful protesters who back the banned group Palestine Action from prosecution.
He said it was not in the public interest to prosecute non-violent individuals who expressed support for the organisation.
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terror group last month after members broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and caused an estimated £7m of damage to planes.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, had made a statement reaffirming support for protest within legal boundaries.
The Home Office declined to give Scotland News a statement, but pointed to comments in a newspaper made by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in which she was critical of Palestine Action, saying that “in a democracy, lawful protest is a fundamental right but violent criminality is not.”
In July a man was arrested outside the TRNSMT music festival in Glasgow for wearing a T-shirt bearing the message “Genocide in Palestine Time to Take Action.”
That same month a man was arrested for displaying a poster supporting the organisation at a flat in the Shawlands area of the city.
‘Chilling effect’
Yousaf, who served as Scottish justice secretary for three years, has written to the Lord Advocate to request the publication of a prosecution policy to clarify the COPFS’ position.
The move follows a warning from the service’s chief executive that its work was at risk of being “undermined” by “unhelpful politicians” who called for the legislation not to be enforced.
As an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian people, one of Yousaf’s primary concerns is what he called a “chilling effect on lawful expression”.
In his letter, the SNP MSP for Glasgow Pollok said there was a “constructive precedent for issuing clear public-interest guidance”.
He gave the example of the non-prosecution policy the Lord Advocate set out for a drug consumption room in Glasgow.
Getty ImagesJohn Logue – who heads up the COPFS – has been reportedly critical of those that questioned the enforcement of a law that had been put in place by elected politicians.
He told the Scotland on Sunday newspaper it was “unhelpful” that some politicians had called for legislation not to be enforced because “that risks creating the impression that prosecutors are not independent, and that they do what politicians ask them to do”.
In his letter, Yousaf said he fully respected the independence of Mr Logue’s role, as well as that of the COPFS and their function of enforcing the law.
He ended by saying he recognised these were “sensitive matters” and requested a meeting with the Lord Advocate.
The COPFS said it would respond to any correspondence received.
In a statement it said: “The Lord Advocate has made a statement in which she reaffirmed support for protest within legal boundaries.
“Scotland’s prosecutors operate independently of any other person or political consideration.
“This independence is a cornerstone of our justice system and ensures fair application of the law regardless of the nature or cause of any protest.”
The human rights group Amnesty International estimates about 700 people have been arrested in the UK, including dozens in Scotland, for expressing support for Palestine Action.
This letter – consisting of three pages of A4 – carries some weight.
Humza Yousaf is not only a former first minister of Scotland but he also served as justice secretary for three years.
He knows how the Scottish judiciary works and the key figures in it.
Although his time as first minister was short, one of the stand-out causes he espoused was that of the Palestinian people.
Many will remember the fraught SNP conference of 2023 when he and his wife Nadia waited for news as her parents were trapped in Gaza.
His passion for the cause is matched by his frustration at the UK government’s ban on Palestine Action.
He cites the precedent of the exemption of the drug consumption room.
However, that could be regarded as a very specific, limited Scottish example that doesn’t tread on Home Office toes.
A relaxation here could have consequences down south – on a ban that is already being challenged at the High Court in London.
With John Logue’s comments and the statement, the Crown’s current position is pretty clear.
Such an outspoken interview from a public official is unusual and is bound to echo the Lord Advocate’s opinion.
Even if she wanted to pursue an exemption, the Lord Advocate would be chary of inciting the home secretary’s ire.
Yousaf will be given a fair hearing due to his position but with a change unlikely his comments do keep this as an issue of public debate.
