British street artist Banksy on Monday took aim at the UK’s crackdown on protesters with a new work outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, adding fuel to a free-speech row roiling the country.<\/p>\n
The artist posted an image of the work, which features a judge wielding a gavel over a protester on the ground holding a blood-splattered placard, on his Instagram page.<\/p>\n
The work has since been covered by black plastic sheets and two metal barriers.<\/p>\n
It appeared after 890 people were arrested at a demonstration against a ban on the activist group Palestine Action in London on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The artwork\u00a0“powerfully depicts the brutality unleashed” by the government’s ban, said a spokesperson from the Defend Our Juries group that organised the protest.<\/p>\n
“Since the dystopian ban came into force, over 1,600 people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for holding cardboard signs with seven words ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action’,” the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n
“When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent — it strengthens it.”<\/p>\n
Free speech has become a hot topic in the UK, with people from across the political spectrum complaining that the law is too heavy-handed.<\/p>\n
The issue hit international headlines last week when comedy writer Graham Linehan was arrested for posts on X insulting transgender people.<\/p>\n
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