Britain’s High Court Rules Palestine Action Terror Designation Illegal, Government Plans Appeal

Britain’s High Court of Justice ruled on Friday, February 13 that the British government’s designation of the pro-Palestinian association Palestine Action as a terrorist organization on July 5, 2025 was "illegal."

The decision was framed as a rebuke to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood saying she was "disappointed" and announcing the government would appeal.

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The High Court said the ban was "disproportionate," because "the nature and the extent of Palestine Action's activities within the definition of terrorism had not yet reached the level, extent, and persistence justifying a ban."

Le Monde.fr said Palestine Action was founded in 2020 by Huda Ammori and Richard Barnard and distinguished itself through acts of civil disobedience targeting Israeli arms companies or those selling equipment to Israel.

In parallel, The Guardian reported that Michael Mansfield KC said sentencing four Palestine Action protesters as terrorists when the jury did not convict them of a terrorism offence would be a "constitutional threat".

At Woolwich Crown Court in London, four Palestine Action protesters—Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Rajwani, 21—were found guilty of criminal damage over a 2024 break-in at an Israeli arms manufacturer’s UK site, and Corner was also convicted of grievous bodily harm without intent for striking Sgt Kate Evans with a sledgehammer.

Michael Mansfield KC told The Guardian that sentencing them as terrorists would be "It’s a recategorising the offence without a trial," and he argued the jury was never told of the possibility of a terrorism connection.

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The Guardian said trial judge Mr Justice Johnson would decide whether there was a terrorism connection to their offence, which would mean a harsher sentence despite the jury never being told of this possibility.

openDemocracy reported that if the court decides to make the terrorism connection at the sentencing on Friday, the activists will serve their whole sentence in prison unless a parole board approves their release after they complete at least 66% of their sentence.

openDemocracy also said non-terrorist prisoners usually serve 40% of their sentence, and that even after release the defendants may be recorded as terrorists for life with requirements to register new device, bank account, telephone number, email address, vehicle, relationship and overseas travel plans with the police for the rest of their lives.

Britain’s crackdown has extended beyond the courtroom, with L’Humanité reporting that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was detained by London police on Tuesday, December 23 for holding a sign that read "I support the prisoners of Palestine Action. I oppose genocide."

L’Humanité said Thunberg was released on bail a few hours later and that a spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said she had "been arrested under the British anti-terrorism law."

The same source said the Palestine Action collective was designated as a terrorist organization by British authorities in July of last year, enabling arrests of people attending rallies, and it cited that at the start of September, 890 participants in a solidarity protest were detained by London police.

Al Jazeera reported that Palestine Action was formally proscribed as a "terrorist" organisation in the UK last July and that the possibility of a judge ruling a "terrorist connection" for sentencing has prompted protests.

Al Jazeera also said the UK parliament voted in favour of proscribing the group on July 2, 2025, classifying it as a "terrorist" organisation and bringing it into the same category as armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).