UK judge pauses trials of people charged with supporting Palestine Action
Protesters hold signs reading,’I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action’ outside Principality Stadium on 29 November 2025 in Cardiff
The New Arab reports on 3 March 2026:
A UK judge on Tuesday put on hold all trials of people charged with supporting Palestine Action, scheduling a blanket review of cases for July 30.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring’s decision, made at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court, comes after the High Court last month ruled the government’s ban on the group unlawful — though the government has been granted leave to appeal.
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation last July, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support the protest group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The move was slammed by rights groups as a government overreach and breach of civil liberties.
Since then, there have been nearly 3,000 arrests, mainly for carrying placards, according to the activist group Defend Our Juries. Hundreds of people are facing charges.
Tuesday’s ruling came as the first defendants charged under the Terrorism Act for supporting the group — Jeremy Shippam, 72, Judit Murray, 71, and Fiona Maclean, 54 — were days away from a three-day trial for allegedly holding placards reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
All three were arrested at a London protest on July 5 and have now been released on unconditional bail.