The government’s decision to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was lawful, the court of appeal has ruled — overturning a high court judgment that had branded the proscription wrong.
A five-strong panel, including the two most senior judges in England and Wales, found that the home secretary had not overstepped her powers when she proscribed the direct action group last June, the first organisation to be banned under the Terrorism Act.
“Court of appeal overturns high court decision, ruling ban on Palestine Action as terror group lawful.”
Reading the decision, the lady chief justice, Sue Carr, said the high court had “materially understated” the latitude afforded to the home secretary in such decisions. She warned that “the future threats and risks posed to third party individuals and property by Palestine Action are perhaps the most important factors to weigh in the balance”.
The ruling comes as a relief to ministers after more than 3,000 people were arrested in a civil disobedience campaign defying the ban, with 700 charged under section 13 of the Terrorism Act — facing up to six months in prison.
Huda Ammori, the co-founder of Palestine Action who brought the legal challenge, said she would “fight this all the way”, signalling an appeal to the UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. Speaking after the judgment, she argued: “Criminalising peaceful political protest in this way is a flagrant violation of our fundamental rights and freedoms in Britain, protected in the Human Rights Act.”
The proscription was triggered after two planes on an RAF base in Oxfordshire were damaged with red paint. Then-home secretary Yvette Cooper announced the ban in June last year, making membership or support for the group an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who took over the role in September, said Palestine Action is “not an ordinary protest or civil disobedience group, and its actions are not consistent with democratic values and the rule of law”. She stressed that lawful protest in support of the Palestinian cause remained a fundamental right, adding: “There is a difference between supporting Palestine and supporting a proscribed terrorist group.”
Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, accused the government of “punishing people for standing up for what they believe in”, noting that “grandparents have been arrested and dragged through the courts simply for holding up signs”.
The cases of many of those charged had been paused pending the appeal decision, which now paves the way for prosecutions to resume.