The thousands of peaceful protestors arrested and charged for supporting Palestine Action must have their names cleared after the group’s victory in the High Court, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson
Senator Stephenson said:
“Palestine Action should never have been proscribed as a terrorist group in the first place – the court’s decision is a vindication of what we have known all along.
“The proscription was a total weaponisation of the legal system against peaceful protest – it is a black mark on the British government that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will appeal the court’s decision and seek to permanently retain the ban under their terrorism act.
“The Social Democrats stand in solidarity with those who were charged and faced consequences to their reputation and employment for peacefully protesting against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians – their records should now be cleared.
“The UK, along with other European leaders, must wake up to the fact that opposing a genocide does not make you a criminal, and that suppressing this opposition is a violation of protestors’ fundamental freedoms and human rights.”
February 13th, 2026