Commenting on the arrest of Defend Our Juries protesters outside Westminster Magistrates Court, Tom Southerden, Amnesty International UK’s Law and Human Rights Director said: “This is a truly shameful attack on our freedom of speech. Those arrested today could face very long prison sentences simply for peacefully opposing the government, over their abuse of counterterrorism powers to punish direct action protests. This is part of an ongoing crackdown on our right to protest, one of the most effective tools we have to hold our leaders to account for their complicity in the genocide in Gaza, the climate crisis and other vital human rights issues. We must see an end to these extreme and punitive measures, and the proscription of Palestine Action lifted.”
