Hundreds of protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square as police were seen carrying out several arrests
Police were seen carrying out several arrests as hundreds of people demonstrated against the ban on Palestine Action in central London.
Protesters congregated in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon, sitting on camping chairs and on the ground as many held up placards that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
At the top of the square, near the National Gallery, large banners were displayed reading “Jurors deserve to hear the whole truth” and “Israel starves kids”.
Around 100 police officers were also present at the base of Trafalgar Square and approached the protest in lines of pairs before arrests were made.
Multiple protesters were carried out of the crowd, with one woman requesting a rest as she was lifted out. Bystanders shouted “stop harming women” as the police put her on the ground for a few seconds before resuming the arrest.
Protesters, some of whom were carried by their ankles and under their arms by officers, were led to an area at the side of Trafalgar Square surrounded by a metal fence. Protest group Defend Our Juries said the demonstration, called Everyone Day, would show the “resistance” to the ban on Palestine Action is “stronger than ever”.
Several police officers were also seen carrying a woman out from the protest as people chanted “shame on you”. Police then lifted a man out in handcuffs and walked an elderly protester with a walking stick to the police vans. One woman shouted: “Yeah she looks like a terrorist, doesn’t she mate?”
Police have so far arrested 92 people during a mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action in central London. The Metropolitan Police confirmed all of the arrests made during the demonstration at Trafalgar Square are for showing support for a proscribed organisation. The ages of those arrested range from 27 years old to 82 years old, the force said.
A female protester holding a Palestine Action protest sign, told the Press Association: “I’ve been arrested once before, but I wasn’t prepared to do it today for various reasons. I have grandchildren to look after. I’m here to support.”
The 69-year-old, who preferred not to be named, was asked if being arrested put her off protesting and she said: “Of course not”.
She added: “It is the most important thing, and I’m old, in my lifetime, it’s huge. It’s a real takeover of the world and its resources. And it’s terrifying. There is a massive genocide that has gone on for a really long time. They have a lust for murder, a lust for hanging. A lust for torture.”
A 53-year old woman, who also preferred to remain anonymous and held a sign reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action” as she sat in London’s Trafalgar Square, said protesters were exercising a “civil right”.
