Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read
31 July 2025 | 13:00 CAT

📷 The Palestine flag symbolising resistance amid legal challenges to the government’s terror listing of Palestine Action.

In a significant legal development, Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori has secured permission to challenge the UK government’s controversial decision to proscribe the group under terrorism laws. The move, welcomed by human rights activists and civil society organisations, is being hailed as a critical step in pushing back against the criminalisation of dissent.

Massoud Shadjareh, Chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, described the ruling as a “crack in the UK government’s increasingly heavy-handed approach to Palestinian activism.” He warned that anti-terror laws are being misused to stifle legitimate protest. “These laws were never meant to make Britain safer,” Shadjareh told Radio Islam International. “They’ve consistently been used to silence genuine dissent and instil fear.”

The government’s stance on Palestine Action, known for targeting UK-based weapons manufacturers supplying Israel, has drawn criticism across ideological lines. Shadjareh pointed out that even elderly Jewish professors and clergy have been arrested for voicing support for Palestinians. “What kind of country are we becoming when an 85-year-old retired priest is arrested under terrorism laws for holding a placard?” he asked.

He added, “A comedian said, ‘In the old days, to be a terrorist, you had to hijack a plane. Now you just have to throw red paint on one.’ It sounds absurd—but that’s the reality.”

Critics argue that the current laws blur the line between direct action and terrorism, especially as Palestine Action’s tactics, while disruptive, largely involve symbolic damage such as red paint on weapons factories. “From the suffragettes to climate activists, civil disobedience has a long, legitimate history in the UK,” said Shadjareh.

The broader context, he warned, is alarming: “We are seeing similar repression across Germany, France, and the US. Peaceful protestors are being brutalised, arrested, silenced, often against the will of the majority.” He pointed to polls showing that 70–80% of Western citizens oppose the ongoing war in Gaza, yet governments persist in arming Israel and suppressing solidarity movements.

Looking forward, the outcome of this legal challenge could set a critical precedent. “If successful,” said Shadjareh, “it may pave the way for reversing other questionable terror designations, including those against groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir, which have never advocated violence.”

He concluded with a sobering reminder: “This is not just a British issue, it’s a question of whether Western democracies are willing to dismantle their own legal and moral frameworks to support a genocide.”

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Massoud Shadjareh.