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Speech advocates Monday decried mass arrests under a terrorism law in London, prompted by a demonstration in defiance of a ban on the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action.

Britain’s Metropolitan Police arrested 857 people for “showing support” for Palestine Action, an activist group that the Government designated under the Terrorism Act in July.

In doing so, the Government made it a crime to wear an item of clothing, or display or carry something that might “arouse reasonable suspicion” that one is a member or supporter of the group. The penalty is prison time, a fine, or both.

All those arrested will be investigated by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command for charges.

Another 33 people were arrested for other offences, including 17 for assaults on police officers, the police said.

The sit-in demonstration, which was organised by activist group Defend Our Juries and took place at the weekend, aimed to urge the British Government to - per the event’s name - “Lift the Ban” on Palestine Action.

Organisers asked protesters to gather in Parliament Square, under Big Ben, holding their own scrawled version of a sign reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

More than 1000 people showed up with a sign, including many elderly people.

“The staggering number of arrests at yesterday’s peaceful protest marks a new low for protest rights in this country,” said Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s director of campaigns and communications, in a statement yesterday.

“It’s completely ridiculous for police to be targeting and arresting people for sitting down, quietly holding a sign.”

Mike Higgins, who is blind and uses a wheelchair, was among those arrested.

As officers wheeled him to a police vehicle, he called out “Free, free Palestine”, a video posted by Defend Our Juries showed. Higgins held up his sign before he was lifted into the van.

In a different video posted by the group, Higgins said he was protesting to protect the right to freedom of action and of speech.

“We have a duty to oppose genocide and to call our Government to account for not doing something to stop it,” he said.

A growing group of human rights organisations and genocide scholars have called Israel’s nearly two-year campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 64,000 people, a genocide.

The British Government has not characterised the conflict in similar ways, though Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to recognise a Palestinian state if Israel does not take major steps to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace this month.

Israel’s Government has denied and called disgraceful the suggestion that its military campaign amounts to genocide.

Palestine Action has sought to use direct action to halt the sale and export of military equipment to Israel.

In listing the organisation under the Terrorism Act in July, the British Government said the group “orchestrated a nationwide campaign of direct criminal action” against businesses and key national infrastructure and defence firms.

The Government also accused the group of seriously damaging property “with the aim of progressing its political cause”.

The Government cited an incident at the Thales military manufacturing factory in Glasgow in 2022, in which five protesters scaled the factory’s roof and caused what officials said was more than £1 million of damage using pyrotechnics and smoke bombs.

It also listed incidents at Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems’ facility in Bristol and one of the company’s subsidiaries, Instro Precision in Kent, where activists blocked entrances, damaged windows and threw paint.

Prosecutors have also accused the activists of aggravated burglary with sledgehammers in the Elbit facility, the BBC reported.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk has urged Britain to rescind its decision to list Palestine Action as a terrorist group, calling the decision “disproportionate and unnecessary”.

In a late July statement, he said the decision conflates protected expression with acts of terrorism.

British domestic counterterrorism legislation defines terrorist acts broadly to include “serious damage to property”. Turk said, that language doesn’t align with international standards, where terrorist acts are confined to those intended to cause death, serious injury, or taking hostages to intimidate a population or pressure a government.

“It misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism to expand it beyond those clear boundaries, to encompass further conduct that is already criminal under the law,” said Turk.

The day before the scheduled demonstration, the British police had warned that the weekend would be “busy” with protests and events, including a march against anti-Semitism on Monday and parallel pro-Palestinian protests on Sunday.

The police warned that they would arrest anyone supporting Palestine Action.

“I can be unequivocal: If you show support for Palestine Action - an offence under the Terrorism Act - you will be arrested,” said Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan.

Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan, head of operations at the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said it was a “false narrative” that the proscription of Palestine Action would bar people from supporting Palestinians.

The superintendent added that there are “other legitimate ways” to carry out protest activity without breaking counterterrorism laws.

Today a new mural by street artist Banksy appeared on the side of central London’s Royal Courts of Justice depicting a judge using a gavel to beat a protester on the ground.

The artist posted a photograph of the graffiti art on Instagram but did not reference a specific incident or cause. Authorities covered up the piece.