Rhydian Witts/R Witts Photography LTD

Amnesty International has launched a global ‘urgent action’ to protect the right to protest in the UK, following the arrest, since July 2025, of over 700 people for peacefully protesting in support of Palestine Action. 70 of the people have so far been charged with terrorism-related offences under UK’s counter-terror legislation and more charges are threatened. Amnesty International launches urgent actions where it deems that there is an ‘urgent need for intervention’ to stop human rights violations or abuses against an individual or group.

The majority of these arrests have followed protests organised by Defend Our Juries (DOJ), a grassroots campaigning group, where people have held placards with the slogan -

“I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”.

The launch of this global campaign is unprecedented, with this being the first time the UK will be the subject of a global Amnesty International ‘urgent action’ about the right to protest. The UK is not the subject of any other ‘urgent action’ campaigns - all of Amnesty International’s urgent actions can be seen here.

The urgent action will involve letters addressed to the Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, the Lord Advocate of Scotland and the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, signed by activists and supporters all over the world. The letter calls for all charges to be dropped and for prosecutors to take no further action against all those arrested for the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It focuses on the UK’s obligations under International Human Rights Law which require that -

“any restriction on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly must be lawful, necessary and proportionate to achieving a legitimate aim.”

It makes the case that criminalising speech or protests in this context is only permitted when it incites violence or advocates hatred or discrimination. And that expressing support for Palestine Action does not meet this threshold. The letter adds:

The European Court of Human Rights’ case law confirms that such expressions, including those on placards, remain protected speech unless they directly and expressly incite violence. Arresting and prosecuting individuals in this context, is as such a violation of the UK’s obligations under human rights law.

The action comes ahead of the next Defend our Juries’ protest, which is due to take place on 6 September, with fears that even more arrests are likely to be carried out.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:

“We urge those around the world who share our deep concern over the arrests of peaceful protesters under UK terrorism laws, to take part in this Urgent Action. The UK’s prosecutors must end the prosecutions of these peaceful protesters and make clear that they won’t be bringing charges against those arrested.

“Peaceful protest is a fundamental right. People are understandably outraged by the ongoing genocide being committed in Gaza and are entitled under international human rights law to express their horror. The protesters, half of whom were over the age of 60, were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as ‘terrorists’.

“We have long criticised UK terrorism law for being excessively broad and vaguely worded and a threat to freedom of expression. The enormous number of arrests and charges demonstrate that our concerns were justified.

“Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the Government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”

The UK's former Director of Public Prosecutions says Government's decision to ban Palestine Action is "unwise", "dangerous" and "should have been avoided."

Lord Ken Macdonald, who immediately preceded Keir Starmer in the role of Director of Public Prosecutions, said on BBC Radio 4 PM this evening that the Government's decision to ban Palestine Action is "unwise", "dangerous" and "should have been avoided”. This followed an interview on the programme with Colonel Chris Romberg, who was arrested on 9 August for holding a cardboard sign saying 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action' - a 75 year old former British army colonel and ex-military attache, who served with distinction in 29 Commando Regiment, and descendant of Holocaust Survivors.

Lord Ken Macdonald's quotes fromBBC R4 interview from around 17:32:

“I think the Government has probably been rather unwise to pursue this course in the case of this organisation.”

“I’ve got two main concerns. First of all, this is to my knowledge the first time we have proscribed an organisation whose activities seem directed solely at causing damage rather than using violence against people - bombings, stabbings, car ramming and so on.

“Secondly, to your point, this the first time I think where we have proscribed an organisation which, in inverted commas, ‘campaigns’ around an issue that’s supported by literally millions of otherwise law abiding people. I think the arrest of over 500 people a little while ago demonstrates that. I mean they are no doubt overwhelmingly people with no previous convictions and otherwise respectable. We’re told that nuns, vicars, and doctors are among them. And notably the average age of those arrested was 55 which is an extraordinarily high average age for arrestees at a demonstration.

“I always thought it was a good rule of thumb for the government that you shouldn't bring in laws - especially terrorism laws - that was likely to result in the arrest of multiple elderly vicars."

“We don’t want to allow terrorism legislation to leak more broadly into criminal law”. Lord Macdonald referenced “authoritarian regimes like Turkey” locking up journalists under terrorism offences.

“I think we have to be very careful to keep terrorism where it belongs: serious personal violence, bombings, stabbings, car rammings, the sorts of things the general public thinks of as terrorism. I think the problem with this proscribing of Palestine Action is that it goes beyond that public conception, and I think that's dangerous and should have been avoided."

“We have never before proscribed an organisation which has only targeted criminal damage. Organisations that have previously been proscribed have also been involved in encouraging, supporting, conspiring to commit personal acts of violence against human beings and I think that’s the rubicon that we’ve crossed here.”