UK Court Invalidates Palestine Action Terror Ban

London's High Court ruled on Friday that the British government's decision to classify the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was unlawful, marking a significant legal victory for the group's co-founder and a rebuke to the Home Office's use of antiterrorism laws.

The ruling, delivered by a panel of three judges led by Dame Victoria Sharp, the president of the King's Bench Division, came in a judicial review challenge brought by Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action. The court found the proscription order, enacted under the Terrorism Act 2000 by then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in July 2024, to be invalid. This placed the group alongside organizations such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State, making membership or public support punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The decision followed a series of direct action protests by the group, including an incident in June 2024 when four activists allegedly entered RAF Brize Norton, Britain's largest air base in Oxfordshire, and damaged two military aircraft with spray paint and crowbars. Counter Terrorism Policing South East charged the individuals with conspiracy to commit criminal damage...