Palestine Action’s co-founder has won a legal challenge over the group’s ban as a terrorist organisation on two grounds.
However, it will remain outlawed for now as the government has said it wants to take the case to the Court of Appeal.
Huda Ammori launched the challenge after former home secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group, which came into force in July last year.
It put Palestine Action on the same footing as ISIS and al Qaeda, making membership or support for the group a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Even wearing a T-shirt or carrying a sign with the group’s name on it can carry a six-month sentence.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was “disappointed” with today’s decision and disagreed with the court that the ban is disproportionate.
She said the government had used a “rigorous and evidence-based decision-making process” when deciding to outlaw the group.
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“The court has acknowledged that Palestine Action has carried out acts of terrorism, celebrated those who have taken part in those acts and promoted the use of violence,” said a statement from Ms Mahmood.
She said the ban still allowed people to protest peacefully in support of Palestinians.
At a three-day High Court hearing in London, Ms Ammori’s lawyers argued the move was unprecedented and compared Palestine Action to the suffragettes.
However, the Home Office said it struck a fair balance between the “rights of the individuals affected and the interests of the community”.
The Defend Our Juries campaign group, which organises protests against the ban, said 2,787 people had been arrested since it came into force.
Raza Husain KC, representing Ms Ammori, said “priests, teachers, pensioners, retired British Army officers” and an “81-year-old former magistrate” were among them.
Normal People author Sally Rooney also provided evidence supporting the challenge.
The writer said she might not be able to publish new books in the UK after being warned she risked a terror offence after saying she would donate earnings to the group.
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