Ban on Palestine Action was lawful, court of appeal rules

A man is arrested during a protest in support of Palestine Action. Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A man is arrested during a protest in support of Palestine Action. Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images Ban on Palestine Action was lawful, court of appeal rules Judges overturn decision of high court that government proscription of group under Terrorism Act was wrong The home secretary’s decision to ban Palestine Action was lawful, the court of appeal has ruled. A five-strong panel, including the two most senior judges in England and Wales, overturned February’s decision of the high court that the proscription of the direct action group, the first to be banned under the Terrorism Act, was wrong . The court of appeal’s decision will come as a relief to the government whose ban attracted widespread condemnation as well as a civil disobedience campaign defying proscription, during which more than 3,000 people have been arrested. But the Palestine Action cofounder, Huda Ammori, who brought the challenge to the ban, said she would “fight this all the way”, signaling that the legal battle was not over yet. On Monday, the lady chief justice, Sue Carr, reading the decision of the judges, who included the master of the rolls, Geoffrey Vos, said the high court had “materially understated” the latitude that the home secretary had when reaching proscription decisions. In her written judgment, she said: “The future threats and risks posed to third party individuals and property by Palestine Action are perhaps the most important factors to weigh in the balance. In that connection, it is important to understand that the home secretary is in the best position to assess those future threats and risks. She is advised by experts in anti-terrorism … “When the severity of the effects of proscription on the article 10 [freedom of expression] and 11 [freedom of assembly”] rights of individuals are balanced against the importance of the objectives of protecting national security and the rights and freedoms of others, affording an appropriate margin of appreciation to the home secretary’s decision, we find that the latter in this case outweighed the former.” From 5 July last year , being a member of – or showing support for – the group became an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Most of the arrests since proscription were for holding placards saying: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” amid a campaign led by Defend Our Juries. More than 700 people have been charged under section 13 of the Terrorism Act, under which they face a maximum of six months in prison. Their cases had been paused while awaiting the decision of the court of appeal. Carr accepted that law-abiding citizens – not the placard-holders – might be subject to a “chilling effect” and “deterred from assembling lawfully or making their strongly held anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian views public for fear of their actions being construed as support for Pale