"I am of course immensely pleased and heartened that the high court has found the proscription of Palestine Action unlawful. This is a victory not only for the Palestine solidarity movement but also for civil liberties in Britain. The proscription of a political protest group under the Terrorism Act represents a truly extreme assault on ordinary rights and freedoms, and the high court acknowledged as much."
"The very significant interference with the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly was one of two grounds on which Ammori's claim was successful. Rooney said the issue was fundamental to the ban, as the legal question was not whether Palestine Action is justified in carrying out its activities, but whether it ought to be a criminal offence even to have that debate."
The High Court ruled that proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act was disproportionate and unlawful, finding significant interference with rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The ban targeted a direct-action group that protests organisations it considers complicit in arming Israel. Two witness statements supporting the legal challenge cited the ban's negative impact on freedom of expression and prompted a pledge to channel proceeds to support the group. The legal focus was whether criminalising debate and protest itself is lawful, not whether the group's activities are justified, and fears of arrest affected travel plans.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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