LONDON: Police in the UK have apologized to a protester wrongly threatened with arrest under terrorism legislation.
Laura Murton, 43, had held signs saying “free Gaza” and “Israel is committing genocide” on July 14 in the English city of Canterbury.
She was accosted by armed officers who claimed she was supporting banned group Palestine Action, and who threatened to arrest her unless she provided her name and personal address.
Murton filmed the incident as it happened, during which an officer told her: “Mentioning freedom of Gaza, Israel, genocide, all of that all come under proscribed groups, which are terror groups that have been dictated by the government.”
The officer added that stating “free Gaza” was “supportive of Palestine Action” and that “to express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organization, namely Palestine Action, is an offence under section 12(1A) of the Terrorism Act.”
