Dozens of academics voice support for Palestine Action prisoners in UK

Dozens of academics and intellectuals have signed a letter expressing their support for the members of Palestine Action imprisoned by the British government across the UK.

"We oppose genocide, we support the Palestine Action prisoners," the letter, published on Monday, stated.

Reputed intellectual Tariq Ali, philosopher Judith Butler, and writer Naomi Klein are among the members who signed the letter.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was arrested in December for holding a pro-Palestine Action placard, is also a part of the group that signed the document.

The activists connected to Palestine Action have reportedly been refused bail and are being held on remand beyond the UK’s standard pre-trial custody limit for the Crown Court, which is 182 days.

Meanwhile, hundreds of others, mainly pensioners, have been charged with supporting Palestine Action and challenging its designation as a "terrorist group."

A number of pro-Palestinian prisoners in various prisons across Britain announced their intention to begin a collective hunger strike on November 2nd, the anniversary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government expressed its official support for the Zionist project to colonize Palestine.

Late last month, a group of UN human rights experts expressed grave concern for the lives and fundamental rights of hunger-striking prisoners, warning they risk organ failure and death after several weeks of hunger strike. 

Media reports have previously highlighted that prisoners linked to Palestine Action have faced growing restrictions on their post, phone calls and visits since the group’s proscription in July, when British home secretary Yvette Cooper banned the organization and designated it as a "terrorist group".

The ban means expressing support or membership of the group is a criminal offense that could lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

In December, the British government closed the final day of the judicial review into Palestine Action by presenting secret evidence, hidden from both the group’s lawyers and the public, to justify its ban on the group.

The developments come as thousands have already defied the UK ban on Palestine Action in "historic" mass civil disobedience.

While the defendants now face non-terror-related charges, the Crown Prosecution Service has said it will argue in court that they have a "terrorism-connection," which could aggravate their sentences.

Ostensibly, the group was banned after two activists protesting against the UK’s support for Israeli genocide in Gaza broke into the largest airbase and damaged two Royal Air Force (RAF) planes in June last year.

Officials, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, have criticized the ban for using terrorism legislation to combat activities that constitute "legitimate exercise of fundamental freedom."

"The decision appears disproportionate and unnecessary," Turk said last July. "[The proscription] limits the rights of many people involved with and supportive of Palestine Action who have not themselves engaged in any underlying criminal activity but rather exercised their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.”

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