Liberty’s responds to terror connection not being applied to Barclays five

Responding to the news that the Barclays five will not be sentenced as terrorists, Ruth Ehrlich, Director of External Relations at Liberty said: 

“We welcome the news that a terror connection won’t be made to this case. However, the fact that a terror connection could even be considered highlights deep flaws in the UK’s laws, and is likely to have a chilling effect on people’s willingness to exercise their right to protest and stand up for what they believe in.

“What makes this case all the more shocking is that the jury and defendants were unaware that the terrorism connection could be applied after the verdict had been reached.

“When it’s not clear what counts as terrorism, public trust collapses and without trust, counter-terror laws simply won’t work. There is an urgent need to update the current definition of terrorism to enable current and future governments to uphold their duty to safeguard the public, whilst protecting people’s rights and preventing overreach.”