Pro-Palestinian Group Can Appeal U.K. Ban, Judge Rules, Citing Free Speech

A pro-Palestinian protest group won permission from a judge on Wednesday to challenge the British government’s decision to ban it as a terrorist organization. The government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer banned Palestine Action on July 5, saying that the group’s campaign of vandalism, including of military planes at a Royal Air Force base, had put Britain’s national security at risk. As a result of the designation, the group was added to a list of terrorist organizations that includes ISIS and Al Qaeda, prompting criticism from the United Nations and a broad range of human rights groups that argued the decision was disproportionate and a threat to free speech. A judge at the High Court in London ruled Wednesday that the group could challenge the ban, citing its impact on freedom of speech over the conflict in Gaza, which he called an “issue of considerable importance” to Britain as a whole.