The UK High Court on Friday found that the government’s decision to ban the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action under terrorism legislation was unlawful and disproportionate, in a major legal victory for civil liberties advocates and the group’s co-founder.
The High Court ruled that the Home Secretary’s 2025 proscription of the group under the Terrorism Act 2000, which made membership and support a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison represented a significant interference with rights to free speech, assembly and association and did not meet the “level, scale and persistence” required to label the organisation a terrorist entity.
Palestine Action, known for direct actions targeting sites linked to defence contractors such as Elbit Systems UK, had been banned after protests including a raid on a Royal Air Force base. More than 2,700 people were arrested for showing support under the ban, including many peaceful demonstrators.
Co-founder Huda Ammori said the ruling was a “monumental victory” for British civil liberties, arguing that criminal law was sufficient to prosecute individual unlawful acts without proscribing an entire movement. Civil liberties groups including Human Rights Watch UK welcomed the decision as a defence of fundamental rights.
The government says it disagrees with the judgment and intends to appeal, and the ban remains in place pending further hearings to determine whether the ruling will stay in effect while the appeal unfolds.
