UK misusing anti-terror laws after banning Palestine Action, says Amnesty Chief

(Web Desk): The head of the global human rights organization Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, has stated that the United Kingdom is misusing its anti-terrorism laws following the ban on the "Palestine Action" group.

According to a report by Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, Amnesty International's chief Agnès Callamard said the UK government has misused domestic anti-terror laws after imposing a ban on Palestine Action.

Speaking at Amnesty UK’s national conference, Amplify, Callamard said “The British government is increasingly using anti-terrorism laws to suppress protests rather than addressing the root cause — the genocide being broadcast live from Gaza.”

According to a report by Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), on July 3, British lawmakers voted in favor of designating the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization and banning it.

A draft order to amend the Terrorism Act 2000 and proscribe three organizations, including Palestine Action — which had been formally introduced earlier in the week by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper — was passed in the House of Commons on Wednesday by a vote of 385 to 26.

According to Al Jazeera, dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in London were arrested under suspicion of terrorism for expressing support for the newly banned group, Palestine Action — among them was an 83-year-old priest.