Organisers of rally over Palestine Action ban aim for bigger protest

The next mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action will aim to be twice the size of the last, organisers have said, as they increase pressure on the government to lift its proscription.

- Haroon Siddique

Last Saturday's protest in Parliament Square was predicated on 500 people signing up but the next one, announced yesterday for 6 September in London, is conditional on 1,000 people agreeing to take part.

Defend Our Juries, the pressure group behind the protests opposing the proscription of Palestine Action, said it believed a turnout of 1,000 would be enough to get the ban lifted.

A total of 532 people were arrested at Saturday's demonstration, all but 10 under section 13 of the Terrorism Act for carrying placards saying: "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action."

The number of people arrested for peaceful protests, their age profile - half of those arrested were 60 or older - and the strain it is putting on the criminal justice system have led many to question the ban.