Midnight marks the effective ban of Palestine Action, following a court’s rejection of its bid to halt the government’s move to designate it as a terrorist organization.
A High Court judge declined on Friday to grant the group additional time to proceed with legal proceedings challenging the government’s decision.
The suggested prohibition, which revises the Terrorism Act 2000, will take effect following approval from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords earlier this week.
This implies that backing Palestine Action could be classified as a criminal act, where joining or showing solidarity with this activist organization might lead to imprisonment for as long as 14 years.
This decision to outlaw the organization followed incidents last month where approximately £7 million worth of damage was inflicted on aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, actions which Palestine Action has asserted responsibility for.
During a hearing held earlier on Friday, Raza Husain KC, representing Huda Ammori, the co-founder of Palestine Action, argued before the court that prohibiting the organization would constitute an “unwise” decision and represent an “authoritarian misuse” of authority.
“This marks the first instance in our history where a nonviolent direct-action civil disobedience group has faced attempts to label them as terrorists,” he stated.