A woman from Somerset was one of 27 people, including a priest, an emeritus professor, and a former government lawyer, as well as a number of health professionals, to have been arrested in Parliament Square, London, for alleged offences under the Terrorism Act last Saturday, July 5.
Ana Heyatawin, 62, a signwriter, grandmother and volunteer with the Samaritans from Binegar, and the other 26 were arrested under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, which carries a maximum six months in jail. All have been released on conditional bail to await further action.
The group said it supported Palestine Action which only since Saturday has been proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Labour government.
Had the group done the same thing the day before, few would have noticed and it would have been lawful, a spokesperson for the group said.
Palestine Action is a non violent direct action organisation which aims to stop arms being trafficked from the UK for use in Gaza, the protest group said.
The group members were reportedly arrested for sitting by a statue of Gandhi, holding signs, saying:
“I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.
The day before the action, the group wrote to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, to warn the police they might commit arrestable offences.
“We would like to alert you to the fact we may be committing offences under the Terrorism Act tomorrow, Saturday 5 July, in Parliament Square at about 1pm," they said. "We do not intend to cause you any alarm. We are committed to nonviolence and there is no risk whatsoever of anyone being harmed.”
People have the right to peaceful assembly, Ms Heyatawin said.
"If I cannot express my opposition to genocide, and my support for those who resist it, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy in this country is dead."
Further such actions are planned, the group said.
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