3 charged in UK for supporting banned Palestine Action group

LONDON: Three people in the UK have been charged for supporting the banned group Palestine Action.

The trio, two women and a man, were detained on July 5 at a protest in Westminster in London. Twenty-six other people were also arrested.

Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judit Murray, 71, and Fiona Maclean, 53, were charged under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. They will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Sept. 16.

Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton in England in June this year, causing £7 million ($9.38 million) of damage to two military aircraft.

Support for or membership of a banned group in the UK is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.