UK Court of Appeal upholds ban on Palestine Action as ‘terrorist’ group — Transcript

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1. 0:01Within minutes of the Court of Appeal's
2. 0:02announcement backing the UK government's
3. 0:05decision last year to prescribe
4. 0:07Palestine Action as a terror group, its
5. 0:09supporters were being forcibly arrested.
6. 0:12>> You speak against the government, you
7. 0:14write words they don't like, and this is
8. 0:15what they think of
9. 0:17>> Also, many of the people that are
10. 0:18currently being arrested are elderly,
11. 0:21they are retired. They say they're here
12. 0:22because of their conscience. They
13. 0:24believe the UK government is supporting
14. 0:26a genocide in Gaza. The government
15. 0:29though says that these people are
16. 0:31terrorists. Would you class yourself as
17. 0:33a terrorist?
18. 0:33>> No, of course I do not class myself as a
19. 0:35terrorist. I accept that I am classed as
20. 0:38one by a government that
21. 0:43commits that supports terrorist regimes.
22. 0:47>> [applause]
23. 0:47>> There she is. There's a decent member of
24. 0:49society.
25. 0:51>> It's the third time this 78-year-old
26. 0:53former psychiatrist has been taken into
27. 0:55custody for supporting Palestine Action.
28. 0:58Judges believe the group poses a threat
29. 1:01to national security.
30. 1:03>> Palestine Action overtly promotes
31. 1:05unlawful violence amounting to
32. 1:08terrorism.
33. 1:09It is not, as it claims, a direct action
34. 1:12civil disobedience protest group like
35. 1:15the suffragettes operating transparently
36. 1:17in the open.
37. 1:19>> [screaming]
38. 1:20>> Last week, four Palestine Action
39. 1:22activists were jailed for causing more
40. 1:24than 1 and 1/2 million dollars of damage
41. 1:27at the UK site of Elbit, an Israeli
42. 1:30defense firm.
43. 1:32Judges say past activity and future
44. 1:35actions led them to agree with the UK
45. 1:37Home Secretary.
46. 1:41More than 3,000 people arrested for
47. 1:43protesting since last July could now
48. 1:46face prosecution.
49. 1:49>> We are unfortunately by our by our legal
50. 1:50system being misled in [laughter] into
51. 1:53arguing about whether we can talk about
52. 1:54Palestine Action
53. 1:56instead of being able to talk about the
54. 1:57Palestinians.
55. 1:58>> I think it's a very dangerous move to
56. 2:00twist this definition of terrorism in
57. 2:03this way.
58. 2:05>> Palestine Action is now considering an
59. 2:07appeal to the UK Supreme Court. Members
60. 2:11and supporters are disappointed, but
61. 2:13undeterred. Richard Gaisford, Al
62. 2:15Jazeera, London.