TEHRAN — British police arrested more than 50 pro-Palestine demonstrators outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Sunday. The mass arrests escalate a state campaign to criminalize solidarity with Gaza and shield UK complicity in the ongoing Israeli genocide.
Merseyside Police confirmed the detentions following a silent sit-in organized by Defend Our Juries.
Nearly 200 people gathered outside the conference venue on the opening day of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s party gathering. Demonstrators held handmade placards reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Officers approached the seated crowd, asked them to lower the signs, and then led them away under the Terrorism Act.
Among those arrested were Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja and Margaret Owen, a 94-year-old human rights barrister.
They joined healthcare workers and ordinary citizens willing to risk 14 years in prison to challenge Western support for the slaughter in Gaza.
State censorship and confrontation
The Labour government proscribed Palestine Action as a “terrorist organization” in July 2025. Activists had previously entered RAF Brize Norton, sprayed red paint on military aircraft, and left Palestinian flags to protest British infrastructure supporting the Israeli war machine.
The government responded with severe repression. Since the ban, authorities have arrested over 3,600 people across Britain simply for displaying signs supporting the group.
Protesters in Liverpool made their motives clear. “Being arrested is nothing in comparison to what the people in Gaza are going through, and it’s also worth it, because this is about our right to free speech,” a protester told Al Jazeera.
While police-filled vans lined the street outside, a separate activist group confronted British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband inside a nearby restaurant. They demanded he lift the protest ban and formally declare the Israeli military campaign a genocide. Miliband refused to comment.
A battle for free expression
Human rights organizations quickly condemned the Liverpool operation.
Amnesty International UK executive Kerry Moscogiuri called the detentions a truly shameful attack on freedom of speech. She challenged the prime minister to reform laws that criminalize communities demonstrating against state policies.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori pledged to fight the proscription to the highest judicial levels. The UK Supreme Court will hear the challenge in November 2026.
The Liverpool arrests demonstrate the stark priorities of the British establishment. The state continues to supply weapons and political cover to Israel. Meanwhile, it treats domestic dissent as a severe security threat.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
