LONDON: Western governments are waging a sustained attack against the right to protest, the International Federation for Human Rights has warned, citing the growing criminalization of pro-Palestine demonstrations.
Governments in the UK, US, France and Germany have “weaponized” domestic counterterrorism legislation and fears of antisemitism to suppress public anger over the Gaza war, the study found, drawing on open-source research, eyewitness testimonies and reports from international organizations.
“This trend reflects a worrying shift towards the normalization of exceptional measures in dealing with dissenting voices,” said Yosra Frawes, head of the Maghreb and Middle East desk at FIDH.
The study, which was conducted between October 2023 and September 2025, highlights concerns over the censorship of elected politicians, violations of media rights, and the silencing of civil society and academic freedom in the four major Western countries, where pro-Palestine protests have regularly been held since the outbreak of the war.
It warns that the “right to protest has come under sustained attack from the British government across administrations and party lines,” and that it has “pushed to legitimize Israel’s genocidal violence” and “continued to justify support for Israel.”
