Police arrest Palestinian activists for thought crime ahead of Equality march

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This comes after similar arrests of Just Stop Oil supporters

Police arrested around 30 activists at the giant LGBT+ London Pride march on Saturday. Their “crime” was thinking about organising a protest.

Using recently passed repressive laws, police detained protesters before they took action. A group of pro-Palestinian activists planned to “die-in” at the Pride march.

The group wanted to show solidarity with Palestine and expose the fact that London Pride is sponsored by companies complicit in Israel’s genocidal murder of Palestinians.

These companies include HSBC, which has invested £100 million in Caterpillar. Caterpillar makes bulldozers used to raze Palestinian homes.

Lloyds Bank and Starbucks are also corporate sponsors of the Pride Parade, both of which have ties to Israel.

The detainees did not take any action. and they did not perform any “extinction”.

The Public Order Act 2023 contains Serious Disturbance Prevention Orders which empower police to intervene before third parties cause serious disturbance to public order.

It allows the police to suppress protests before they even begin. A similar series of arrests took place earlier this week. Police raided Just Stop Oil (JSO) meetings and the homes of supporters of the climate justice group. They detained 27 activists.

Police have detained JSO activists on charges of planning to cause widespread disruption at airports during the holidays.

Police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian groups continue elsewhere. Last Saturday, during the Cardiff Pride march, Cymru Queers for Palestine organized a protest to oppose Princeity Building Society’s sponsorship of the event.

Principality Building Society is linked to Barclays, which invests in companies involved in genocide.

South Wales Police, who were marching in support of Cardiff Pride, “grabbed, dragged and brutalized” peaceful protesters, Cymru Queers for Palestine said.

The arrests of London Pride and JSO activists indicate a clear escalation of police repression. This is a disgusting way to suppress those fighting for climate action and challenging imperialism. There must be resistance.