Reverend Sue Parfitt, an 83-year-old retired priest from Henbury, Bristol, was arrested on Saturday during a demonstration in London after expressing support for the now-banned protest group, Palestine Action, reported the BBC.
The arrest came on the same day the UK government officially proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000. The designation makes it a criminal offence to be a member of or to express support for the group, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison.
Rev. Parfitt, wearing her vicar’s collar and a black coat, was seen sitting peacefully on a camping chair in Parliament Square, holding a placard in support of Palestine Action. Surrounded by police officers, she was eventually escorted away in a calm manner. As she was led off, she criticised the government’s move, calling it “total nonsense” and a “loss of civil liberties in this country.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley defended the arrest and the broader police response, stating on the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, “The law doesn’t have an age limit, whether you’re 18 or 80. If you’re supporting proscribed organisations, then the law is going to be enforced.” He added that officers made the arrest “with great care” to maintain the dignity of the elderly protester.
A total of 29 individuals were detained at the protest and have since been released on bail pending further investigation.
The decision to ban Palestine Action followed an incident on 20 June, where two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire were sprayed with red paint, causing an estimated £7 million in damage. The act was attributed to members of Palestine Action and intensified pressure on the government to act.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, announcing the ban, described the group as “disgraceful” and said it had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage.”
In a letter addressed to the Home Secretary, supporters of the group said, “We do not wish to go to prison or to be branded with a terrorism conviction, but we refuse to be cowed into silence by your order.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the group is being investigated for several offences, with some cases already headed to trial.
