Grandmothers arrested at Palestine protest ‘robustly deny any criminal offence'
Sue Pentel and Martine McCullough were arrested earlier this year by police investigating an incident of criminal damage at a Barclays Bank in the city.
Ms Pentel, 72, was detained by officers along with Martine McCullough, aged in her 50s, on May 24 while protesting outside the bank in Castle Place over an incident at a previous protest at the bank on April 26.
The two attended Musgrave Street police station in Belfast city centre on Wednesday morning for the pre-arranged interview under caution.
Fellow campaigners staged a protest in solidarity with the women outside the station, with applause and calls of 'we're with you' as they arrived.
Solicitor Padraig O Muirigh, who represents the two women, said they 'robustly deny that they have committed any criminal offence'.
'Our clients have been involved in peaceful protests against the ongoing genocide in Gaza which has been ongoing now for 628 days,' he said.
'Today's interviews under caution follow their arrests on the 24th May 2025.
'My clients robustly deny that they have committed any criminal offence and maintain that they should not be subjected to criminal investigations for exercising their right to peaceful protest against the atrocities being committed in Gaza.'
He added: 'Our clients will robustly contest their innocence and defend their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights to freedom of assembly and expression if a decision is made to prosecute them.'
Jewish grandmother Ms Pentel is a high-profile campaigner against Israel's military offensive on Gaza.
Videos circulated online of the arrest of Ms Pentel indicate the alleged offence related to the placing of stickers on the bank's ATM machine.
Barclays has been a target for pro-Palestine protesters who claim the bank is linked to companies supplying weapons to Israel.
Barclays has previously addressed the criticism, saying it provides financial services to nine defence companies supplying Israel but does not directly invest in such firms.
The bank has said it has become the target of a disinformation campaign over its ties to defence companies.
Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Ms Pentel said they are 'proud to peacefully protest outside Barclays'.
'We've been doing it for the last eight months,' she said.
'To protest the genocide, to protest the violence, to protest the way that Israel feels its OK to starve children, to stop humanitarian aid while the world looks on.
'Well, we won't look on, we won't remain silent.'
She added: 'We understand that we've been asked to be interviewed under caution, and we're voluntarily going in about an incident on April 26 and all we can say is we're proud to demonstrate with our amazing colleagues every week outside Barclays.
'We have the right to peacefully protest, we want to thank our solicitor Padraig O Muirigh for his time and advice.
'We have the right to peacefully protest and we will continue to do it until the genocide stops.
'We're two grandmothers, when our grandchildren ask us what we did, we know what we'll say, we stood up, we spoke out, we weren't silent, and as a Jewish person I am absolutely ashamed of anybody either Israeli Jewish or London Jewish or wherever who doesn't stand up and who thinks this is OK.'
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From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here . In statement on X said: "Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy. But when speech crosses into incitement, hatred, and advocacy of ethnic cleansing, it must be called out-especially when amplified by public figures on prominent platforms. "Chants such as 'Death to the IDF,' and 'From the river to the sea' are slogans that advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel and implicitly call for the elimination of Jewish self-determination. When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence. "We call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred." 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Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines recently after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence, reports Somerset Live. In reference to his bandmate's upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would "start a riot outside the courts", before clarifying: "No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine." In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be "appropriate". During the performance, Caireallain said: "The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer." He also said a "big thank you to the Eavis family" and said "they stood strong" amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up. O hAnnaidh, 27, wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: "We are all Palestine Action", in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group. News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio played from the sound system before they walked onto the stage were booed by the Glastonbury Festival audience. The trio opened with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art and also performed tracks including Get Your Brits Out and Hood. Access to the area around the West Holts Stage was closed around 45 minutes before their performance after groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags. Earlier on Saturday, the BBC confirmed they would not be live-streaming the set but said the performance is likely to be made available on-demand later. Article continues below O hAnnaidh was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" at a gig in November last year. On June 18, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts. He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20.
