LONDON: Marianne Sorrell, an 80-year-old retired teacher from Wells, a city in southwestern England, said that her arrest earlier in July for holding a placard at a pro-Palestine rally has left her feeling “traumatized” and “sick.”
Police officers detained Sorrell for nearly 27 hours on July 12 after forcibly entering her house and seizing 19 items, including iPads, a Palestinian flag, books about Palestine, and materials related to Extinction Rebellion and climate change. She was held on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, which the UK government banned earlier this month under anti-terrorism laws.
Sorrell told The Guardian newspaper: “At 80, to be treated like a dangerous terrorist is deeply shocking. I’ve been very traumatised by this. Every morning I wake up feeling sick, nauseous. (I have) had to take anti-sickness pills.”
She said a friend of hers, who went to feed her cats while she was in custody, saw a Geiger counter, which measures radiation, on the table while the police were searching the house.
“They’ve actually not taken anything that could be classed as illegal but it’s very confusing that they’re beginning to think anything connected to Palestine or support for Palestine is illegal in some way,” Sorrell said.
