伦敦抗议巴勒斯坦行动禁令活动中大规模逮捕

"...The battle over the ban on Palestine Action (PAG) - last month, proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK - now feels as much a political and PR battle as a legal one...."

"...That depends on three courtroom battles that will each, in turn, influence how Palestine Action is publicly perceived and legally characterised...."

"...The real challenge for the police and prosecutors is how many protesters do they need to charge with support of a banned terrorist organisation to send a message to the public...."

"...So is the ban on Palestine Action a legal and PR disaster in the making for Home Secretary Yvette Cooper?..."

"...But ministers hope that the difference between the organisation she founded and other forms of protest over Gaza will become clear thanks to the second of the three linked legal battles soon to take centre stage...."

"...That incident prompted national security officials and the police to look at whether a terrorism ban on PAG could be justified, after having previously concluded that the vast majority of its highly disruptive activities amounted to minor criminal damage...."

"...Documents disclosed to the BBC in the High Court show how the thinking on a ban had evolved...."

"...And this is where the UK's wide definition of terrorism comes in...."

"...So when Cooper banned PAG, her decision was largely informed by what the Home Office has described as millions of pounds of criminal damage, not an assessment that it was a group of murderous militants...."

"...If the ban is overturned in the High Court then hundreds of those arrested would see their cases collapse...."