London - The Metropolitan Police has unleashed a campaign of intimidation and bullying against members of the public expressing support for Palestine. These include the arrest of innocent people carrying placards and other legal symbols of Palestinian solidarity, the publishing of people’s faces, in some cases their home address, on social media and in doing so, they are inviting sensationalist media coverage, violence and hate against Muslim communities and pro Palestine activists.
CAGE has documented a growing number of cases where police forces are employing intimidatory and bullish tactics against what are otherwise legal forms of demonstration in the name of combating ‘hate crimes’ or through weaponising public order offences. These tactics are representative of the deep seated nature of Islamophobia and racism inherent within the Metropolitan Police.
Since Suella Braverman’s attempts to criminalise expressions of Palestinian solidarity in a letter to chief constables last month, CAGE has warned of the dangers this poses to the fundamental rights of expression and assembly. We have written letters to the Home Office and Police Chiefs outlining our concerns over their disproportionate crackdown on pro-Palestine protests.
A spokesperson from CAGE said:
“The Police is behaving increasingly erratic in its attempts to silence voices against the genocide of the Palestinian people. Behaving entirely at the behest of the Westminster elite, the Police force has become entirely politicised and compromised.”
“Most egregiously, the Police are denying the right of free expression and assembly by falsely attributing ‘potential’ anti-semitic motives when there is no evidence to suggest it exists as they did with the recent Palestine car convoy. ”
Photo by Austin Crick on Unsplash
London - The Metropolitan Police has unleashed a campaign of intimidation and bullying against members of the public expressing support for Palestine. These include the arrest of innocent people carrying placards and other legal symbols of Palestinian solidarity, the publishing of people’s faces, in some cases their home address, on social media and in doing so, they are inviting sensationalist media coverage, violence and hate against Muslim communities and pro Palestine activists.
CAGE has documented a growing number of cases where police forces are employing intimidatory and bullish tactics against what are otherwise legal forms of demonstration in the name of combating ‘hate crimes’ or through weaponising public order offences. These tactics are representative of the deep seated nature of Islamophobia and racism inherent within the Metropolitan Police.
Since Suella Braverman’s attempts to criminalise expressions of Palestinian solidarity in a letter to chief constables last month, CAGE has warned of the dangers this poses to the fundamental rights of expression and assembly. We have <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/cage-challenges-met-police-commissioner-and-chair-of-national-police-chiefs-on-disproportionate-policing-amidst-crackdown-on-pro-palestine-protesters">written letters</a> to the Home Office and Police Chiefs outlining our concerns over their disproportionate crackdown on pro-Palestine protests.
<h3>A spokesperson from CAGE said:</h3>
“The Police is behaving increasingly erratic in its attempts to silence voices against the genocide of the Palestinian people. Behaving entirely at the behest of the Westminster elite, the Police force has become entirely politicised and compromised.”
“Most egregiously, the Police are denying the right of free expression and assembly by falsely attributing ‘potential’ anti-semitic motives when there is no evidence to suggest it exists as they did with the recent Palestine car convoy. ”
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@austin_nft?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Austin Crick</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-large-group-of-people-walking-down-a-street-wJDG1oRjk4o?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>
