LONDON: Ian Hislop, the editor of the UK’s satirical magazine Private Eye, has condemned the arrest of 67‑year‑old protester Jon Farley, who was detained under terrorism laws for displaying a cartoon that joked about the government’s proscription of Palestine Action.
Farley, a retired teacher, was held under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act after holding a placard displaying the cartoon from Private Eye at a silent Gaza demonstration in Leeds.
Hislop slammed the arrest as “mind boggling” and a “blatant misunderstanding of satire,” noting that the cartoon was “an example of freedom of speech” against a government policy, according to a report by The Guardian.
Hislop added: “So, it’s not difficult to understand. It’s critical, but it is quite clearly a joke. (It) seems to me absolutely extraordinary that someone could be arrested for holding it (the cartoon) up.”
Farley, a regular demonstrator, said he took the cartoon to a protest in Leeds after hearing that 32 Palestinians seeking aid had been killed by Israeli forces that day.
