UK police arrest 55 at parliament rally for banned Palestine Action group
LONDON (Reuters) -Fifty-five people were arrested at a rally for the banned Palestine Action group outside Britain's parliament on Saturday, London's Metropolitan Police said.
The crowd in Parliament Square had been waving placards supporting the group that was banned this month under anti-terrorism legislation, the force said in a post on X.
People from the rally, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, were taken away in police vans.
British lawmakers proscribed the group earlier this month after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain's support for Israel.
Membership of Palestine Action now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
The group has called the decision "authoritarian", and a challenge to the ban will be heard at London's High Court on Monday.
Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted defence firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
Police have arrested scores of the group's supporters at rallies across Britain since the ban came in
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
32 minutes ago
- CBS News
Baltimore protesters show support for Maryland pastor detained by ICE agents
Protesters rallied in Baltimore on Monday in support of a Maryland pastor who is still being held by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Louisiana. As of Monday, Easton pastor and father Daniel Fuentes Espinal, 54, remains in custody at the Winn Correctional Center in Winn Parish, Louisiana. Fuentes Espinal is a church pastor and a construction worker. He has lived in the U.S. since 2001. ICE said he entered the country legally on a six-month visa, but it has expired for decades. His family said he's attempted to secure a Green Card, and he has no prior criminal record. Fuentes Espinal was arrested as he was on his way to his day job on Monday, July 21. Fuentes Espinal is also a pastor at Iglesia Del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama in Easton, Maryland. In a statement, ICE officials said Fuentes Espinal migrated to the U.S. from Honduras and entered the U.S. in 2001 on a six-month visa. After it expired, ICE says he was living in the country illegally. "It is a federal crime to overstay the authorized period granted under a visitor's visa," an ICE spokesperson told WJZ. After his arrest, Espinal was taken to a detention center in Salisbury, transferred to Baltimore then to the Winn Correctional Facility in Louisiana. Many of those who took part in the rally are calling for policy changes at the federal level. This weekly march from McKeldin Plaza to the George H. Fallon federal building, where Baltimore's ICE detention facility is held, is about advocating for their neighbors. Fuentes Espinal's supporters say he has no prior criminal record, and his arrest should never have happened. "[If] a man of faith, a family man who's been here 24 years, can be snatched off the side of the road to a government-sponsored kidnapping, then none of us are safe," Len Foxwell, a family friend of Fuentes Espinal, said. Since his arrest, Foxwell says Fuentes Espinal has had minimal contact with his own family. "They actually charge $50 for a phone call for a family that's already lost their primary breadwinner. That's a huge financial hit," Foxwell said. Rally goers say this weekly march is about love instead of hate. "People are leading into that hate, but we can't be doing that anymore. It is too late at this point in the game to hate, and I am imploring everybody to come out here and love instead," Annalese Estepp, from Severna Park, said. Daryl Walsh said he woke up Monday morning and was "sick to his stomach" while scrolling social media. He says he saw a video of ICE arresting a Latino man, and decided he wanted to rally to make his voice heard. "My hope is that just more and more and more people come out so it just, it becomes so big that it can't be ignored," Walsh said. Monday night's rally comes on the heels of some members of the Maryland congressional delegation trying to enter the Baltimore ICE facility earlier in the day, but were denied. "Why don't they want members of Congress to go in and see with their own eyes, or talk to people who are detained there? Because they want to cover up what's going on," Sen. Chris Van Hollen said. Congressman Andy Harris, who represents Talbot County, where Fuentes Espinal lived, did not try to enter the ICE facility with the rest of the delegation. He was critical of his democratic counterparts on social media. "These Maryland lawmakers didn't lift a finger to stop illegal immigrants and MS-13 gangs from pouring into our state, but now they're staging ''sit-in' stunts for cameras to keep illegals in Maryland. Spare us the show. We stand with ICE and their mission to keep Maryland safe," Harris wrote. Foxwell says that Fuentes Espinal endured poor conditions while held in Baltimore before he was transferred to a facility in Louisiana. "Pastor Fuentes Espinal was there for three days. He didn't have a bed to sleep on. He didn't have a place to shower, didn't have a place to brush his teeth, and to be quite honest, he actually needed a bucket for bodily functions. These are inhumane conditions to which no American should be subjected," Foxwell said. Foxwell says Fuentes Espinal is still waiting to stand before a judge for a bond in Louisiana.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bag of kittens found dumped in park as city cat abuse runs rife
A bag of kittens was found dumped in a park in Southampton, as the director of a charity said that cat abuse is "absolutely on the increase" in the city. One kitten has been left with an ulcerated eye, as the bag of four "could have easily died" if not for a chance encounter with a member of the public in Riverside Park on July 23. Tracy Howe, managing director of The Cat Welfare Group, explained that this is just one of several abuse incidents that she has had to dealt with over the past two months. She explained that a member of the public was walking in Riverside Park and happened to see a "gentlemen just drop a bag and walk away". READ MORE: New bin collection scheme sparks fresh wave of anger "People walking past by chance are saving lives," she explained. One of the kittens which was dumped in a bag in Riverside Park. (Image: The Cat Welfare Group) The member of the public opened the bag to find four kittens abandoned in the park. This is just one of several abuse incidents that Tracy's charity has dealt with over the past two months. On July 3, Hampshire police attended reports of a strong smell coming from a house on Thirlmere Road. A group of Sphynx cats were left boarded up in a house with a mound of dry food. (Image: The Cat Welfare Group) Upon arrival, they discovered seven Sphynx cats had been left alone for weeks, left with a mound of dry food and no water. Tracy described the conditions as "shocking" and "filthy", as cat faeces were all over the floor, pieces of carpet had been eaten away and flies were covering the walls. Hampshire officers called staff from The Cat Welfare Group who attended and helped to rehome the cats. READ MORE: Community rallies together to clean 'disgusting' mess left by travellers Tracy explained that officers "ring at all hours" to ask for the charity's help during visits like that. This cat was found taped up in a bag in a skip on Greenacres Road. (Image: The Cat Welfare Group) Another cat was found on June 21 taped up in a bag inside a skip on Greenacres Road. "That's the tip of the iceberg," Tracy explained. "I wish I could say it's a rare incident but it's really not. It's absolutely on the increase." Another of the kittens dumped in a bag in Riverside Park. (Image: The Cat Welfare Group) Tracy believes that during the coronavirus lockdown, people bought cats and dogs and did not neuter them, leading to a "population boom" a few years later. "People get kittens who are very, very cute but they then have kittens, and it just keeps spiralling," she explained. She believes it then becomes "too much" for some people, who decide to just dump or abandon their pets somewhere else. "I appreciate rescue centres and maxed out and full, but we want people to reach out and let us help," she said. "If we can't take them, we will try and find someone that can, and we will help with the transport for that as well. "These cats die. That's ultimately what we're trying to save."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Warning: Fake Labubu toys being sold in Stoke-on-Trent shops
'Fake' Labubu toys are being sold in Stoke-on-Trent shops. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has issued the warning after complaints from shoppers. It comes as the parts on some toys are 'detaching easily'. A council spokesman said: "With the summer holidays in full swing, we are hearing more reports of fake Labubu toys being sold. The unsafe toys have parts that detach easily meaning they are a safety hazard for children." READ MORE: Police kick man out of Hanley and warn bikers and e-scooter riders READ MORE: First picture of Staffordshire biker, 65, killed in crash To report a fake Labubu toy, call citizen's advice on 0800 223 1133. Sign up for the latest breaking news and top stories from StokeonTrentLive on WhatsApp
