Category Archives: Protest

British Palestinians feel ‘gaslit’ and unable to speak out, says leading activist

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Ahead of Nakba march, Sara Husseini says many feel they are being treated as suspects rather than victims of mass suffering

British Palestinians feel unable to speak openly about Israel’s war on Gaza, the director of the British Palestinian Committee has said, amid what campaigners believe is a growing climate of hostility around Palestinian identity and activism in the UK.

Some were afraid to wear Palestinian symbols at work or display Arabic jewellery and keffiyehs in public, Sara Husseini said.

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Israeli nationalists chant ‘death to Arabs’ in violent Jerusalem Day march

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Far-right Jewish marchers call for Palestinian villages to ‘burn’ as they storm through Muslim quarter of Old City

Israeli nationalists chanted “death to the Arabs”, “may your villages burn” and “Gaza is a graveyard” in a state-sponsored march through Jerusalem to mark the anniversary of the city’s capture and annexation.

The annual assertion of Jewish control over Palestinian East Jerusalem has grown more extreme in recent years, and Thursday’s event culminated with the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, unfurling an Israeli flag in front of the al-Aqsa mosque, the holiest Islamic site in the city.

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More than 110 Nobel laureates call on Iran to release gravely ill activist Narges Mohammadi

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As human rights advocate is treated in Tehran hospital after transfer from Zanjan prison, prize winners demand her freedom

More than 110 Nobel laureates have called for the immediate and unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Iranian human rights activist and Nobel peace prize laureate, after she was transferred to hospital amid concerns over her rapidly deteriorating health.

In a statement released on Tuesday, 112 Nobel laureates urged the Iranian authorities and the international community to act “without delay” to secure Mohammadi’s release and ensure her continued access to medical treatment.

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Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyer calls immigration case a ‘sham’ after revelation it was fast-tracked by DoJ

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Palestinian activist is awaiting another legal decision on a separate track in a narrowing effort to stay in the US

A lawyer for Mahmoud Khalil, the first noncitizen activist arrested in the Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech, called his client’s immigration proceedings “preordained and a complete sham” after it was revealed that the case was prioritized to be fast-tracked.

“These revelations make clear that this case has been controlled from day one by higher-ups in the administration,” said Marc Van Der Hout, an attorney on Khalil’s legal team, in a statement. “The immigration judge was hand-picked and the Board of Immigration Appeals decision was predetermined. We will continue to fight for Mahmoud in every court we can.”

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Royal Opera House calls for release of Georgian bass singer jailed over democracy protests

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Casting director urges Keir Starmer to intervene in case of Paata Burchuladze, 71, jailed for seven years after singing at anti-regime demonstrations

The Royal Opera House in London has urged Keir Starmer to intervene in the case of Paata Burchuladze, a world-renowned bass singer who has been imprisoned in Georgia since October on a charge of leading a coup against the country’s authoritarian leader.

The 71-year-old has performed at the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and collaborated with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. He was arrested after joining a protest outside the presidential palace in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Last week he was given a seven-year jail sentence which Burchuladze suggested to the court was equivalent to a life sentence given his age.

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Nobel laureate’s smuggled memoir details beatings and neglect in Iranian prisons

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Writing by Narges Mohammadi, arrested 14 times for activism, offers a disturbing insight into treatment

In an exclusive extract of writing smuggled from prison in Iran, the Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has described the “torture” of solitary confinement, and her systematic medical neglect by the prison system.

The writing from the past decade will be part of a soon to be published memoir that gives a rare and alarming insight into the treatment of Mohammadi, who is in critical condition. It details beatings, constant interrogations, deprivation of medical care and long stretches in solitary confinement during her numerous imprisonments.

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Palestine Action activist says he ‘did the right thing’ over protest at arms firm site

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Exclusive: Jordan Devlin, who was acquitted at trial where four co-defendants were convicted, says he was saving lives

A Palestine Action activist who was acquitted over a protest at an Israeli arms manufacturer’s UK site has said he and his five co-defendants “did the right thing”.

Four of those who stood trial with Jordan Devlin were convicted of criminal damage in relation to the direct action protest at the Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol on 6 August 2024, but he said they had been acting to save Palestinian lives.

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Hong Kong dissident Nathan Law on China spies in UK: ‘We’re not surprised’

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Law says conviction of two men for spying raises serious concerns about how they accessed sensitive information

Nathan Law, an exiled leader of the Hong Kong student protest who lives with a £100,000 bounty on his head from the Chinese authorities, was not surprised to discover a spy ring had photographed him entering the Oxford Union for an evening debate in November 2023.

The conviction at the Old Bailey of Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 38, and Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 65, for assisting a foreign intelligence service, was a sobering first – no Chinese spies had been convicted in British criminal history before Thursday – but the details that came out in the nine-week trial mainly served to confirm his suspicions.

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Iran executes three men in relation to January anti-regime protests

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Hangings are latest in wave of near-daily killings as authorities seek to instil fear amid war with US and Israel

Iran has executed three men charged in connection with political protests this January, authorities have said, the latest in a wave of hangings against the backdrop of the war against the US and Israel.

Iranian authorities have carried out executions on a near-daily basis in recent weeks in what activists have denounced as a bid to instil fear in society at a time of international and domestic tension.

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Some pro-Palestinian protests could be banned amid attacks on British Jews

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PM worried about ‘cumulative’ effect of marches, as Met chief says Jewish communities facing biggest threat

Some pro-Palestinian demonstrations could be stopped, the prime minister has warned, as the UK’s most senior police officer said the threat to the Jewish ­community was greater than it had ever been.

Keir Starmer indicated he wanted the language expressed on some protest marches to be subjected to “tougher action” as he sought to allay the fears of British Jews after a series of attacks on their communities in recent weeks.

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Pro-Palestine activists appear in court over attack on Israeli arms factory in Germany

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Families say ‘Ulm 5’ have been detained under extreme prison conditions since arrest last September

Five pro-Palestinian activists have appeared in court over an attack on an Israeli arms company in Germany, charged with causing approximately €1m of damage.

Prosecutors say the defendants, aged 25 to 40, trespassed and yelled pro-Palestinian statements as they destroyed office equipment, sensitive measuring devices and smashed windows at a site linked to Elbit Systems in the southern city of Ulm.

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Arrests fuel fears among Madagascar’s gen Z protesters that new regime no better than one they overthrew

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Jubilation is turning to disenchantment as young activists arrested after protest calling for election date to be set

The arrest of several protesters in Madagascar has increased fears among young people that the military regime that took power last year after huge Gen Z demonstrations will be no better than the government it overthrew.

Four Gen Z activists, Herizo Andriamanantena, Miora Rakotomalala, Dina Randrianarisoa and Nomena Ratsihorimanana, were arrested on 12 April, one of their lawyers said, two days after taking part in a protest calling for an election date to be set.

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Police say no evidence found of reported gang-rape in Epsom

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Reports of alleged crime led to protests in the Surrey town this week, after claims woman in her 20s attacked

Police investigating a rape incident in Epsom have said they have “not found any evidence” of the offence as reported. The reports prompted protests in the Surrey town this week.

Sarah Grahame, assistant chief constable at Surrey police, said the force was continuing to investigate a report that a woman in her 20s had been raped by a group of men on 11 April in Epsom after she left the Labyrinth Epsom nightclub. The alleged attack is said to have happened between 2am and 4am outside a Methodist church.

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NSW should think twice before banning ‘globalise the intifada’ after court struck down anti-protest law, legal expert says

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Another lawyer says ruling ‘puts brakes on the Minns government’s ability to use executive power to minimise people’s rights to protest’

The Minns government should think twice before imposing an outright ban on the phrase “globalise the intifada” in the wake of a landmark finding that could limit attempts to control speech and protests, a leading constitutional expert has said.

New South Wales’ highest court ruled in favour of the Palestine Action Group and Blak Caucus on Thursday, striking down an anti-protest law introduced after the Bondi beach terror attack that gave police the power to restrict marches, including the anti-Herzog rally in February.

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Prominent UK pro-Palestine activists guilty of breaching protest conditions

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Campaigners call verdict on Ben Jamal and Chris Nineham ‘grotesque’ and part of attempt to ‘undermine civil liberties’

Two prominent leaders in the Palestine solidarity movement in Britain have been found guilty of breaching protest conditions, in what campaigners called a “grotesque” and “shocking” decision.

Ben Jamal, 62, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and Chris Nineham, 63, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, were accused of failing to comply with conditions imposed on a protest on 18 January 2025. They were subsequently charged with public order offences.

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Michigan student disciplined for protesting against war on Gaza reaches settlement with school

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Teenager alleged she faced racism from teacher who told her to ‘go back to her country’ for refusing to stand for pledge of allegiance

A Palestinian middle school student in Michigan who was publicly admonished for refusing to stand for the pledge of allegiance as part of a personal protest against the war on Gaza has settled with her school district following a lawsuit around her first amendment free speech rights.

The teenager, identified as DK in court documents, said she faced racism from a teacher at the West Middle school in Canton, Michigan, after she did not participate in the pledge. The teacher reportedly told DK to “go back to her country”, Fox 2 Detroit reported.

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Crowds gather for London march against the far right – live

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Together Alliance march begins in central London at midday; a separate event organised by the Palestine Coalition is also taking place

Co-organiser of Saturday’s event, Sabby Dhalu, who is joint secretary of the Together Alliance and co-convenor of Stand Up to Racism, said the UK is seeing an “unprecedented growth” in support for far-right organisations.

“We believe that the majority of British people stand against the hatred and division and racism that was being encouraged at that demonstration and by these types of organisations, and it’s time to act.”

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Billy Bragg calls for big turnout at London march against far right

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Musician urges public to send clear message at what is expected to be UK’s biggest ever multicultural rally

Billy Bragg has encouraged people to send a clear message to those seeking to divide the country by turning out to support what is expected to be the biggest multicultural march in UK history on Saturday.

Speaking to the Guardian before the Together Alliance’s march against the far right in central London, the musician and political activist said participants hoped to “send out a message to our fellow citizens that we are willing to take a stand against [the politics of hate] being imported into the UK”.

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Charity challenges ‘chilling’ law change restricting protest at animal testing sites

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Animal Aid says reclassification of research facilities as key infrastructure could catch even most peaceful action

A charity has filed a legal challenge over a “chilling” change in the law that restricts protest outside animal testing facilities in England and Wales by reclassifying them as “key national infrastructure”.

Animal Aid says last month’s amendment to the Public Order Act could capture even the most peaceful, non‑disruptive advocacy. It claims the change is unlawful because it goes beyond parliament’s intention at the time the act was passed.

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Queensland’s ‘from the river to the sea’ laws likened to Bjelke-Petersen era anti-protest regime

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Health minister Tim Nicholls corrects claim alleged Bondi terror attack gunman Naveed Akram used controversial phrase, as laws roundly criticised

Police arresting pro-Palestinian protesters for using the phrase “from the river to the sea” had “all the hallmarks of an authoritarian police state”, according to a Greens MP, amid widespread backlash against Queensland’s new hate speech laws.

The controversial laws went into effect yesterday after passing a vote in parliament last week.

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