Responding to the news that Judge Altham at Preston Crown Court has ruled that a ‘terrorist connection’ will not be added to the criminal damage convictions of five Palestine Action activists, who sprayed red paint and damaged windows of Barclays branch in Burnley, Kerry Moscogiuri, CEO of Amnesty International UK said:
“We welcome the judges ruling that the ‘Barclays 5’ will not be sentenced as terrorists. No one should be treated more harshly under the law because their crimes were part of a protest against genocide or any other issue, and the misuse of terrorism powers in this way should never have even been considered.
“We now need to see the proscription against Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation lifted and an end to the misuse of sweeping counter terror powers against direct action protestors. The Government should begin the process of reversing the years of attacks on our right to demonstrate, one of the most effective tools we have to hold our leaders to account.”