Today’s guilty verdicts in the case of Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal and Stop the War vice-chair Chris Nineham are extraordinary and shocking and a huge setback for civil liberties.
The pair have made clear that they will be appealing these verdicts and they have the full support of the Palestine Coalition in that.
There are significant concerns about the conduct of the six day hearing which will be raised during appeal.
A key part of the defence was that the conditions imposed on the protest on 18 January 2025, which prevented a march to the BBC, were unlawful. The defence submitted a detailed legal argument outlining this case.
Extraordinarily, in dismissing this argument, District Judge Daniel Sternberg informed the Court that he was not obliged to give any reasons for his decision.
The substantive issues at the heart of the case were clear. From the stage that day, Ben Jamal explained that a delegation of leaders of the coalition, plus MPs, trade union leaders and members of the Jewish bloc, would walk peacefully in a symbolic protest towards the BBC to lay flowers to mark the Corporation’s failures to report the truth of genocide in Gaza.
Ben made clear that, if stopped by the police, the flowers would be laid at the police line. In the event, as copious video evidence shows, police officers invited the delegation to pass though.
Claims of disorder on the day were simply false. The only moment of violence was when Chis Nineham was brutally pulled to the ground and hauled away by police officers.
The logs of the Police Gold Commander Adam Slonecki reveal that enormous political pressure was placed on the police by pro-Israel groups to prevent a protest at the BBC.
Today’s verdict raises huge concerns about any further powers granted to the police through the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently progressing though parliament. It confirms the view, widely held across civil society, that these proposed increased powers represent a seismic threat to democratic freedoms.
The unprecedented charging and now conviction of leaders of a movement that has brought millions to the streets in support of the people of Palestine is designed to chill ongoing opposition to genocide, apartheid and illegal occupation. It will not succeed.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Palestinian Forum in Britain
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Stop the War Coalition
Muslim Association of Britain
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament