As you may have read, a series of hunger strikes is taking place this month by prisoners held under the government’s anti-terrorism legislation for protesting against the war in Gaza.
At the same time further public protests are planned to try to oppose the use of terrorism legislation for non-violent protest. More than two thousand people have already been arrested.
I wanted to share with you two first hand accounts that were given at a press conference Compassion in Politics facilitated last week to give the media the chance to hear the stories of those who are protesting.
I was shocked and moved by each of them.
The first is from Steve Masters who is a veteran of the Royal Air Force and was arrested under terrorism legislation for sitting silently on Parliament Square holding a handwritten sign. He intends to protest again.
The second is Clare Hinchcliffe, the mother of 22 year old Zoe who is one of 24 protestors known as the ‘Filton 24’. Zoe had broken into Israel’s largest weapons establishment - located in Filton, Bristol - to dismantle production equipment and quadcopter drones she believed were about to be sent to Israel for use in Gaza.
In this interview, Clare explains how the use of terrorism legislation has led to her daughter and the other Filton activists being held for15 months without bail or trial.
There are very real threats facing the security of this country, not least foreign government funded disinformation and interference in our democracy.
The use of terrorism law against non-violent protestors represents a grave infringement on our civil liberties. It has also led to an enormous waste of police and court time, with more than 2,000 peaceful protestors having been arrested for silently holding up signs.
There is a huge difference between those who use terror to take lives and those who are driven by their hearts to damage weapons to try to stop them being used to kill innocent civilians in Gaza. Classifying criminal damage as terrorism is a dangerous precedent.
If you feel, as we do, that the government needs to end the use of terrorism laws against non-violent protestors, please add your name to this letter which we will be delivering to the Prime Minister.
In solidarity,
Jennifer Nadel
CEO Compassion in Politics