NEWS CENTER – Dirk Campbell, father of YPJ fighter Anna Campbell, who was detained during protests against the UK government’s designation of the “Palestine Action” group as a terrorist organization, stated, “An unjust legislation against Palestine Action.”

 

On July 12, groups in London, Cardiff, and Manchester protested against the designation of the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization under UK law. During these protests, police detained 41 people in London, 13 in Cardiff, and 16 in Manchester.

 

Palestine Action is known for its actions targeting arms companies since the start of the war in Gaza. The group claimed responsibility for painting two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in June. Following the incident, four people were arrested on charges of conspiracy and unlawful entry into a prohibited area.

 

After the incident, security reviews were launched at military airbases across the UK. On July 5, MPs passed legislation formally designating Palestine Action as a “terrorist organization.” Following this decision, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that the group has a “long history of criminal activity” and declared, “We will not tolerate those who threaten national security.”

 

‘AN UNJUST LEGISLATION’

 

One of those detained during the London protests was Dirk Campbell, father of YPJ fighter Anna Campbell, who was killed in 2018 during Turkey’s bombing of Afrin. Released on bail, Campbell spoke to our agency about the events. He emphasized that 35 people held a peaceful protest by the Nelson Mandela statue in London’s Parliament Square and that they were detained because of the law that declared Palestine Action a “terrorist organization” and allowed arrests of its members or supporters.

 

Regarding the law approved on July 5, Campbell said: “Supporting the organisation can result in up to 14 years’ imprisonment. I spoke to my MP James McCleary about this on Wednesday. He told me that the group had been lumped together with Maniacs Murder Cult and Russian Imperial Movement, two far right fascist groups, so that MPs could not vote separately on the three groups but had to vote on all three together. This means that MPs who did not want to proscribe Palestine Action had to either vote against the motion or abstain. A majority vote was carried, resulting in unjust legislation against Palestine Action.”

 

Campbell noted that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will decide in October whether to prosecute and what sentences to seek. He added, “It should be noted that the judiciary in this country has been influenced by successive UK governments to issue harsher sentences against participants in non-violent protest, such that sentences of several years have been handed down to e.g. climate protesters belonging to organisations not classified as terrorist. So things are not looking good for me. The only possibilities in my favour would be a judicial review on the basis that the legislation was not properly carried out, or repeal of the law.”

 

MA / Hîvda Çelebi