LONDON (AP) – The co-founder of a Palestinian rights group in the UK, which has been banned by the British government, won a legal bid on Wednesday to challenge the decision of the group’s A terrorist group.
The High Court judge ruled that the government’s decision to litigate against Palestine could be reviewed. The ban has brought Palestine’s actions the same as Al Qaeda and Hamas, among others. This means that the group’s membership or support for its conduct can be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper moved to Palestine to protest Britain’s military support for the war with Hamas after activists broke into the Royal Air Base in Brize Norton on June 20. The radicals sprayed red paint into the engines of the two tankers and caused further damage to the crowbar.
Earlier this month, lawyers for co-founder Huda Ammori asked the judge to allow her to challenge the injunction and described it as an “illegal intervention” to her freedom of speech.
On Wednesday, Judge Martin Chamberlain said the two questions raised were “quite controversial” so the challenge could be carried out.
He said the ban could be said to be inconsistent with the right to freedom of speech, and Cooper might seek wider consultation before proceeding with the ban, which was backed by parliament earlier this month.
“This landmark decision, which calls for the illegal decision to grant the Home Secretary to ban Palestinian actions, demonstrates the importance of this case to the speech, expression and freedom of our country and the rules of the law itself, and to the general assembly and to the freedom of natural justice,” ammori said after the ruling.
Police have made dozens of arrests during demonstrations supporting the group over the recent weekend.
