UK government presents secret evidence to justify ban on Palestine Action

The UK government closed the final day of the judicial review into Palestine Action by presenting secret evidence to justify its ban on the direct-action group.

Part of Tuesday’s hearing was held in a closed session to allow the government to submit material it said could not be disclosed for national security reasons.

During the closed session, judges heard the secret evidence while lawyers, journalists, and members of the public, including Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, were asked to leave the courtroom.

Before the session, Stephen Kosmin, representing the British Home Office, defended the ban.

If Ammori loses her case based on the secret evidence, neither she nor her legal team would know what the government had argued against her or Palestine Action.

After the closed session, Ammori’s legal team returned to court, criticizing the ban as having a “chilling effect” on Palestinian activism in the UK.

Lawyers for Ammori said the restrictions have resulted in house raids, protest injunctions, workplace disciplinary measures, suspensions, and frozen bank accounts.

Tuesday’s hearing concluded a three-day judicial review—the first of its kind granted to a group proscribed as a terrorist organization.

The court also heard submissions from UN special rapporteurs, who argued that the UK has become an “international outlier” by banning Palestine Action.

“There is also a consensus, or emerging consensus, that the definition of terrorism does not extend to serious damage to property,” said Adam Straw KC, speaking on behalf of UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul.

Palestine Action ban ‘disturbing misuse’ of UK terror law: UN rights chief

Volker Turk calls on the UK government to revise its counter-terrorism legislation in line with "international human rights norms and standards.”

A report published last week revealed that the British judge initially set to decide the lawfulness of the UK’s proscription of Palestine Action has been abruptly replaced. The new panel includes a judge with long-standing ties to Israel, prompting accusations of a potential “stitch-up.”

Victoria Sharp, known for her well-documented connections to pro-Israel lobbying networks in Britain, leads the panel overseeing the case.

The government outlawed the group days after activists, protesting Gaza genocide, broke into an air force base in southern England and allegedly caused damage to two aircraft.

Since the ban on Palestine Action, hundreds of people across the UK have faced arrest for opposing the ban on the direct-action group and holding placards that read: "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action."

Defend Our Juries, which has organised protests against the ban on Palestine Action, held a month-long series of protests in 18 towns and cities across the UK.

The protests culminated in a demonstration outside the Royal Courts of Justice last Wednesday, on the first day of the judicial review, resulting in approximately 140 arrests.

Palestine Action has focused much of its campaign on Elbit Systems UK, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, which it accuses of supplying weapons to the Israeli military during the regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.

In July, the UN human rights chief sharply criticized Britain’s ban on the activist group, calling it a “disturbing” misuse of the UK’s counter terrorism laws and urging the government to reverse the decision.

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