Liberty responds to Court of Appeal judgment on Palestine Action proscription

In response, Liberty director Akiko Hart said:

“We are disappointed about this judgment and believe this proscription is a disproportionate use of counter-terror powers.

“This judgment risks paving the way for current and future governments to use counter terror powers against non-terrorist groups, as we have seen in other countries to silence activists, minorities and opponents.

“This case has already had, and will continue to have, a chilling effect on protest and free speech – leaving many people too afraid to protest or say the wrong thing. People must be able to speak out and protest without fear of being labelled a terrorist and arrested.

“When it’s not clear what counts as terrorism, public trust collapses and without trust, counter-terror laws simply don’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 and national security, whilst protecting people’s rights and preventing overreach.”