On June 15, the Court of Appeal in London upheld the United Kingdom government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group. This damaging ruling, which overturns an earlier High Court decision against the government, will likely further inhibit the right to protest in the UK and globally.
Palestine Action was established in 2020 as a “direct action” protest group to oppose Israeli government abuses against Palestinians. The group has targeted Elbit Systems, a defense firm with close ties to the Israeli military.
Since the British government’s 2025 decision to ban the group, around 3,000 people have been arrested, including for simply holding signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Over 700 of these cases are pending in the courts of England and Wales, with many more at the recharges stage.
The Court of Appeal acknowledged that the ban could have a “chilling effect,” dissuading people from expressing their views publicly, but nevertheless found it “justified and proportionate” because Palestine Action used violence to target property. The court expressed deference to the government in matters of national security.
Numerous British and United Nations experts have criticized the UK’s overbroad definition of terrorism. Best practice, described in a 2004 UN Security Council resolution supported by the UK, relates terrorism to acts intended to cause death or serious personal injury, or hostage-taking.
However, criminal damage, including property damage that does not endanger life, should not qualify as terrorism, according to international best practice standards, and should instead fall under normal criminal law.
Defining a protest group as terrorists has created an absurd situation where thousands of people peacefully holding up signs are being charged with supporting terrorism.
On June 12, in a separate criminal trial in London, a judge sentenced four Palestine Action members to between five and seven and a half years in prison for a 2024 raid on an Elbit factory, ruling that a “terrorism connection” to their actions was an aggravating factor.
Human Rights Watch has documented the misuse of counterterrorism powers to stifle dissent in numerous countries, including Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Türkiye, and India. With this proscription, the British government has placed itself alongside governments that attack democratic freedoms and are backsliding on human rights.
