Reverend Sue Parfitt declared her support for Palestine Action outside the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA View image in fullscreen Reverend Sue Parfitt declared her support for Palestine Action outside the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA First Edition newsletter Palestine Action Monday briefing: Who are the people trying to protect our right to protest? In today’s newsletter: One year on from the proscription of Palestine Action, an elderly retired priest steadied herself on the conviction that protest had become a moral duty, while she waited for the police to move in
Prefer the Guardian on Google Good morning. At first glance, you could mistake it for an image of a pair of community cops assisting an elderly woman as she navigates some tricky steps. Only closer examination reveals they are arresting her.
Yesterday afternoon, 84-year-old Reverend Sue Parfitt, a retired Anglican priest, and 13 others stepped one by one on to a modest cardboard box outside New Scotland Yard in London, to invite members of the constabulary to join the banned direct action network Palestine Action . That simple invitation, made with tongues firmly in cheeks, resulted in their arrests under section 12 of the Terrorism Act, punishable with up to 14 years’ imprisonment. It was a balmy afternoon and the arresting officers wore shirt sleeves. As a courtesy to the advanced years of some of the protesters, elders were not handcuffed.
Sunday also marked the year anniversary of the proscription of Palestine Action – the first direct action protest group to be banned under the Terrorism Act – and the beginning of one of the largest campaigns of mass civil disobedience in modern British history, led by Defend Our Juries.
I spoke to our legal affairs correspondent, Haroon Siddique , who has reported on every twist of this saga, about the campaigners’ escalating tactics, and what it means for our right to protest across the UK.
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View image in fullscreen Marji, a retired tax adviser and grandmother to seven, takes action. Photograph: Defend Our Juries Yesterday’s action was part of a significant escalation from the campaign group Defend Our Juries, whose Lift the Ban campaign has already resulted in more than 3,400 arrests of peaceful protesters holding up cardboard signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.
But first, a reminder of how we got here. Former home secretary, Yvette Cooper, announced the ban a few days after two memb…