Latest news with #FranckMagennis
Telegraph
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Hamas lawyer called for ‘copycat' Palestine Action groups
A lawyer who represented Hamas called for 'copycat' direct action groups to spring up to replace the banned Palestine Action. Franck Magennis was one of three lawyers who worked on an unsuccessful application to remove Hamas from the Home Office's list of proscribed organisations. It has now emerged that Mr Magennis spoke at a conference in the days before Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist group, and called for copycat groups to pick up the mantle. Mr Magennis, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers, reposted a video of himself making the speech at the Socialist Workers' Party's Marxist Festival on the day the ban came into effect. In the video he calls for: 'Copycat direct action groups… to spring up everywhere… We mustn't let the British Empire, that is participating in this genocide, push us around. They do not have the power to stop us.' He also tells the audience Zionism is in a 'serious crisis' and encouraged supporters to 'kick it to death' He said: 'It [Zionism] is in a serious crisis; it looks like it is not long for the world, but that doesn't mean that we can be complacent. We must assure that we kick it to death. It must not be allowed to survive this crisis.' The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism has made a complaint against Mr Magennis to the Bar Standards Board alleging that is conduct diminishes public trust in him as a barrister. The group alleges that posts on his social media amount to a criminal offence, namely the support of a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000. In the complaint, they say: 'We take it as axiomatic that a barrister who commits criminal offences under the Terrorism Act 2000, which are potentially punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment, is not a fit and proper person to remain a barrister. 'It follows that it is your duty as his regulator to pursue this matter vigorously and without delay'. The complaint went on: 'He is experienced in the practice of criminal law, in addition to which the very words he used both in his offending posts and in the speech he gave at the Marxist meeting, a video of which he chose to embed and republish on X, prove that he knew exactly what he was doing. He acted flagrantly.' The organisation said that alongside the video calling for copycat groups to spring up, Mr Magennis also posted other inflammatory messages. On July 5, he posted 'Escalate!' in response to fellow lawyer Fahad Ansari, who posted: 'The organisation may be banned. The action isn't. Escalate.' Mr Ansari and Mr Magennis are behind a law firm that says it is 'dedicated to understanding and confronting the racist ideology of Zionism' through 'strategic litigation'. The name of the organisation, Riverway to the Sea, is a reference to the slogan 'from the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free', which has been interpreted by some Jewish groups as a call for the elimination of Israel. That same weekend, Mr Magennis also posted : 'They're not powerful enough to stop us. Elbit Systems UK Limited, you'd better be terrified of what's coming. We're gonna fucking destroy you. We're only getting started. Tiocfaidh ár lá [Irish for 'Our day will come'], you Zionist scum.' A spokesman for Garden Court Chambers said: 'The barrister concerned made the statements and publicised them in their individual capacity. 'Those statements do not represent the views of Garden Court Chambers, and they should not be treated as reflecting any position held by Garden Court Chambers. Furthermore, Garden Court Chambers does not endorse the language and tone used to express them. 'We take this opportunity as a chambers to make clear that we unequivocally condemn racism and anti-Semitism in all its forms.'
Times
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
‘Kick Zionism to death,' says UK lawyer representing Hamas
One of the British lawyers representing Hamas has told supporters that 'Zionism' is in a 'serious crisis' and encouraged supporters to 'kick it to death'. Franck Magennis, one of three lawyers working on an application to remove the group from the Home Office's list of banned terrorist organisations, told the Socialist Workers' Party's Marxist Festival last week that 'Zionism is dying'. 'It [Zionism] is in a serious crisis; it looks like it is not long for the world, but that doesn't mean that we can be complacent. We must assure that we kick it to death. It must not be allowed to survive this crisis,' Magennis, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers, said in footage seen by this newspaper. • Gary Lineker 'not welcome' to speak at Jewish football writer's memorial His comments came after Riverway Law, the law firm that filed the application, announced that it had relaunched as Riverway to the Sea, a law centre 'dedicated to understanding and confronting the racist ideology of Zionism' through 'strategic litigation'. The name of the new organisation, which is being led by Magennis, and Fahad Ansari, a solicitor who is also representing Hamas, is a reference to the pro-Palestinian slogan 'from the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free', which has been interpreted by some Jewish groups as a call for the elimination of Israel. • Who are the Israeli ministers sanctioned over Gaza comments? Riverway Law ceased trading in June and no longer function as a solicitor's practice regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which had opened an investigation into the firm in April after being alerted to social media posts by Ansari. On Monday, a spokesperson for the SRA said that the investigation is ongoing. Both Magennis and Ansari, who are working pro bono as it is an offence to accept money from a proscribed terrorist organisation, have previously made controversial comments on the conflict. In a speech outside Westminster magistrates court in support of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, a member of the rap trio Kneecap, who had been charged with a terrorism offence, Magennis said, 'It is over for Zionism.' • Hadley Freeman: A conversation every Jew I know is having He added that 'we must make sure that Zionism is not allowed to survive this crisis; we must contribute to the abolition of the state of Israel and its replacement with a single democratic state of Palestine'. In a separate interview earlier this year, Magennis said that the aim of the application was to 'end Israel'. He said: 'I will find a way to empathise with them and hopefully expand the consensus by a bit, so hopefully we can think about what it will mean to end this genocide, to end Israel, which I think is what my client wants'. 'I know a lot of Jews will hear that and think that's a call for some repetition of the Holocaust; it's not, it's a call for peace, it's a call for a democratic state,' he added. • BBC boss left Bob Vylan's Glastonbury death chants on live stream Last year, Ansari tweeted: 'The heroic Palestinian resistance — may every one of their bullets hit their targets … it is imperative that we all support them'. He also paid tribute to Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, following his death in Tehran last July. Both lawyers expressed support for Palestine Action prior to the group being proscribed, with Ansari describing them as 'the heroes of the moment'. In their 106-page legal application, Hamas claimed that proscription was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights because it unlawfully restricts freedom of speech and that it was disproportionate as Hamas 'does not pose any threat to Britain or British citizens'. The Home Office is expected to announce its ruling on Hamas's application on July 9. De-proscription is very rare, with only four groups having been taken off the list of banned terror groups since the system was introduced under the Terrorism Act 2000. The Campaign Against Antisemitism warned that a successful application would 'open the way for funding to be channelled through the UK to Hamas' and said that 'it is particularly perverse and revolting that they are invoking human rights in order to do so'. Riverway to the Sea, the Socialist Workers' Party and Garden Court Chambers were contacted for comment.
Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Ex-Arsenal kit man to sue club after ‘sacking for pro-Palestine comments'
A long-serving kit man at Arsenal FC is suing the Premier League club over claims that he was sacked for having made pro-Palestine comments on social media. Mark Bonnick, 61, had been with the north London club for 22 years until he was 'fired abruptly' on Christmas Eve over what he has claimed were false allegations of antisemitism. On Friday representatives of the European Legal Support Center said that Bonnick had filed a claim against Arsenal for unfair dismissal. To bring the claim the centre has instructed a barrister, Franck Magennis, of Garden Court chambers in London. It emerged last month that Magennis was one of three lawyers who were representing Hamas in its appeal against the UK government's decision to designate it as a
Leaders
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Leaders
UK Lawyers Target 10 Britons Over Alleged Gaza War Crimes
Ten British citizens, including dual nationals, served in the Israeli army face legal action for alleged accusations of committing war crimes in Gaza. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and UK-based Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) submitted a 240-page report to London's Metropolitan Police. It alleges murder, civilian attacks, and forced displacement. Lawyers demand urgent probes into these crimes. Michael Mansfield KC, a human rights barrister, argues British nationals are not 'above the law'. The dossier aims to deter future recruits from joining Israel's military. Evidence and Charges The report cites open-source data, witness accounts, and legal analysis. It links the accused to atrocities like extermination and targeting aid workers. Franck Magennis, a barrister, stressed British law allows prosecuting citizens for international crimes. 'They should face the full force of the law,' he said. Magennis compared this case to South Africa's efforts against dual nationals in Israel's military. He urged the UK to act, noting global scrutiny of foreign recruits. Ayoub Khan, a UK MP, called the submission a 'crucial first step' with potential worldwide deterrence. Over 50,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have died in Gaza since October 2023. The ICC recently issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes. Short link : Post Views: 28
