Legal experts, rights groups slam UK home secretary’s call to criminalize carrying Palestinian flag

People walk down Regent Street with a large Palestinian flag as they take part in a 'March For Palestine', part of a pro-Palestinian national demonstration, in London, on October 14, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 21 October 2023
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Legal experts, rights groups slam UK home secretary’s call to criminalize carrying Palestinian flag

LONDON: Carrying the Palestinian flag is a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people’s legitimate struggle for basic human rights and their right to live in the recognized state of Palestine and should not be considered a criminal offense, a leading British discrimination lawyer has said.

“By waving the Palestinian flag, all you are doing is ultimately highlighting your sympathies, secondly your concerns and thoughts, and thirdly your support for the Palestinians and the people that are suffering,” which does not constitute an offense, Yasin Patel told Arab News.

His comments came in response to UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s letter to senior police chiefs earlier this week saying that waving a Palestinian flag or singing a chant advocating freedom for the occupied territory may be a criminal offense.

“It is not just explicit pro-Hamas symbols and chants that are cause for concern. I would encourage police to consider whether chants such as ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ should be understood as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world, and whether its use in certain contexts may amount to a racially aggravated section 5 public order offense,” she said in the letter released on Tuesday.

Her words, which follow relentless strikes by Israel on the Gaza Strip over the past eight days in response to a surprise attack by the Hamas group, deeply impact the right to freedom of expression, which “are fundamental rights that we have and the reason why we have those is (to) allow you those rights so that you can have democracy,” Patel said.

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He said if people wanted to express their freedom of expression using the flag during marches that support the Palestinian cause they were entitled to do so, as this is a basic fundamental right according to UK law and enshrined within the European Charter.

“In terms of a public order (offense), one has to incite something, break the law or do something that’s unlawful in order to upset someone,” he said. “What’s been alleged here is that by waving the flag, you would upset Israeli citizens or those with sympathies for Israel and/or alternatively supporting Hamas.

“Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization, but the Palestinian flag is not Hamas and Hamas is not the Palestinian flag,” he added.

Patel continued: “Braverman wants headlines, and no doubt she’s putting her two pennies’ worth in terms of trying to make sure that she’s lining herself up for the next PM role, but, ultimately, in terms of the law, it’s very simple; just because you wave a Palestinian flag that’s not a terrorist act, that’s not unlawful, that’s not illegal.

“If she does feel that’s the case, she can happily arrest those people who are carrying Palestinian flags, and I have no doubt, not only myself but thousands of other lawyers, would happily represent the people who (would stand) before the courts questioning what offense they’ve committed.




Home Secretary Suella Braverman (2-L) with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he hosts a policing roundtable at 10 Downing Street in London on October 12, 2023. (Pool via REUTERS)

“We had the Israeli flag upon Downing Street a couple of days ago. No one’s saying they can’t do that (but) I’m a bit surprised that the government only shows support to one side but not all the innocent babies, children, citizens who are dying and about to die in the hands of the Israeli military now.”

Beleigh Jbara, a former human rights lawyer, called Braverman’s two-page letter a “disgrace,” and said that it would be difficult for British society to agree to, while questioning whether it was “acceptable or not acceptable by law and regulations and police powers.”

Jbara said that if the British government and parliament were saying Hamas was a terrorist group, then this was about what the UK has to do to prevent its society from supporting such a group.

“We’re talking about protecting the UK society from such events coming from outside and getting into our society, like what happened throughout Al-Qaeda and Daesh,” where young generations had gone to the Middle East to fight, he said.

UK-based Friends of Al-Aqsa, an NGO concerned with defending the human rights of Palestinians, condemned Braverman’s suggestion that flying Palestinian flags or chanting “Free Palestine” would be a criminal act and said her “veiled threat and denial of political expression is unacceptable.”

Its chair, Ismail Patel, said: “It is draconian for the British government to deny our right to express the plight of the Palestinians. Legitimate political expression should not be a privilege, nor the reserve of those allied with the government; it is a fundamental right for all citizens in a democratic society.”

 

 

He added: “I was at the forefront of organizing and demonstrating against the British government’s war against Afghanistan and Iraq (and) we were never obstructed from voicing our opinions like this. So why is this government giving cover to Israeli policies by denying British citizens their right to political expression?

“The right to champion the plight of the occupied, discriminated-against and marginalized is integral to democracy,” and the UK government’s “steps will prevent British citizens from helping to end human rights violations, which will disenfranchise people from political activism,” he said.

FOA was one of six groups to organize a rally on Saturday, along with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, where tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets of London in defiance of Braverman’s letter.

Ben Jamal, the director of PSC, said that the letter was “deeply concerning” and “threatens civil liberties and normalizes the dehumanization of Palestinians that is widespread in current political discourse.”




A protester holding a Palestinian flag climbs the Eros statue at Piccadilly Circus during a 'March For Palestine', part of a pro-Palestinian national demonstration, in London on October 14, 2023. (AFP)

He added that police officers enacting Braverman’s orders would be denying “the right of Palestinians to fly the flag of their country; a flag which is the symbol both of their nationhood and struggle for liberation from Israel’s apartheid system of oppression.”

Jamal said that the Palestinian flag “is a precious national symbol that represents its people’s aspirations for freedom and self-determination, to live in peace and equality.”

Meanwhile, Rajab Shamalakh, former president of the Palestinian Community in the UK, said Braverman’s statement “was clearly siding with Israel despite the fact of her knowing that the Israeli army has inflicted lots of misery on the Palestinian people by attacking civilians, bombing homes without any warning, and they’ve killed over 600 Palestinian children” so far.

 

 

“When someone protests, by default, they’re going to have to carry the flag of (those) whom they are sympathetic with because the picture that we are seeing is a major catastrophe, so of course we have to carry the Palestinian flag to show those people who are under siege, being bombed, being killed, and they feel they need some kind of support,” he said.

Shamalakh, who is originally from Gaza, added that the Palestinian flag has been recognized by the UN and “there are more countries who recognize Palestine with its flag than those who recognize Israel.”

 

Shamalakh, who has lost at least 13 family members — 12 from one household — since the war began, said Braverman “cannot deprive people of practicing democracy in a manner that is allowed and there is no law that has been physically passed to prevent people or to make it illegal, adding that there have been many similar demonstrations in the past “so why is it different this time?“


Freight shipping on Mosel river in Germany blocked after accident

Updated 3 sec ago
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Freight shipping on Mosel river in Germany blocked after accident

The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France
Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said

HAMBURG: Freight shipping on the river Mosel in west Germany has been blocked to shipping after an accident involving a passenger ship that damaged a lock, authorities said on Thursday.

The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France. Transit was halted after an accident on Wednesday damaged a lock at Sankt Aldegund between Koblenz and Trier, a police spokesperson said.

Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said.

Technical experts on Thursday were examining the lock, and it is not yet possible to comment on the level of damage or say how long the impact on shipping will last, river navigation authority WSA said.

German federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder said in a statement he will visit the accident site later on Thursday.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure that the lock can resume operations as soon as possible,” Schnieder said.

The river was closed to inland waterways shipping in December after an accident that damaged a lock at Mueden, south of Koblenz, and only reopened in February after lengthy repairs.

Initial indications are that the lock’s concrete structure and drive mechanism were not damaged in the accident, WSA head Eric Oehlmann said in a statement.

Technicians are currently assessing whether it is possible to resume limited lock operations for the waiting vessels to pass, he said.

“If not, we will find another solution, for example, through emergency locks with temporary water control barriers, which have already proven effective,” Oehlmann said.

A temporary lock was successful in allowing ships to transit during the winter disruption.

“Despite the accident, there is determination that shipping on the Moselle will not come to a complete standstill," Oehlmann said.

Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA

Updated 5 min 55 sec ago
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Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA

  • ‘The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue,’ the Japanese Foreign Ministry says

TOKYO: Japan has expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Japan attaches great importance to the activities of the IAEA in verifying Iran’s nuclear program and expresses serious concern over this announcement,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

“The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue.”

Iranian authorities announced on Wednesday that they would no longer cooperate with the agency. Japan had been urging Iran to continue to cooperate with the IAEA and said all necessary diplomatic efforts to achieve this will go on, in cooperation with the international community and relevant organizations.

“Japan has consistently emphasized the importance of resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through dialogue, based on the position that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed, for the sake of maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the Foreign Ministry added.


Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK

Updated 25 min 48 sec ago
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Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK

  • Corbyn in talks with Independent Alliance MPs elected in 2024 for opposing Gaza war
  • Jeremy Corbyn: That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative

LONDON: Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he could launch a political movement to provide a left-wing “alternative” to the governing party before the next general election.

Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 by the UK’s current Prime Minister Keir Starmer due to a row over antisemitism. 

He has since sat as an independent MP, and has hinted at a desire to form a new group centered around socialist policies with a pro-Palestine stance.

Corbyn told ITV’s “Peston” political show that he is holding discussions with members of the Independent Alliance, who were elected last year by running on pro-Palestine platforms against Labour MPs.

The alliance includes Leicester South MP Shockat Adam; Birmingham Perry Barr MP Ayoub Khan; Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain; and Dewsbury and Batley MP Iqbal Mohamed.

“That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative,” Corbyn said, adding that its foreign policy platform would be “based on peace rather than war,” and that it would seek to alleviate poverty and inequality.


Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine

Updated 03 July 2025
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Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine

  • "We must strengthen Ukraine. And we must weaken Russia," Frederiksen said
  • Zelensky is meeting Frederiksen in the city of Aarhus, as well as European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa

AARHUS, Denmark: Denmark promised on Thursday to push for Ukraine to join the EU, as the Nordic country welcomed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the start of its six-month EU presidency.

Ukraine launched its bid to become an EU member in the aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion, but it has stalled because of opposition from Hungary.

"We must strengthen Ukraine. And we must weaken Russia," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement, promising to mix increased military support to Kyiv with sanctions on Moscow.

Zelensky is meeting Frederiksen in the city of Aarhus, as well as European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

Frederiksen has stressed the importance of European security, which she links to a strict migration policy, and the country has promised to push the agenda and champion Ukraine during its EU presidency.

The Aarhus meeting comes as the United States announced it would stop supplying some weapons to Ukraine, after President Donald Trump effectively nixed the country's attempts to join the NATO military alliance.

Russian strikes have intensified in the absence of progress on resolving the conflict, and the US moves have severely hampered Kyiv, which has relied on Western military support since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.

"Ukraine is essential to Europe's security. Our contribution to Ukraine is also a protection of our freedom," Frederiksen said.

"Ukraine belongs in the European Union. It is in both Denmark's and Europe's interest. Therefore, the Danish EU presidency will do everything we can to help Ukraine on their way towards EU membership."

Denmark's Europe minister Marie Bjerre told reporters earlier on Thursday that Ukraine's EU membership bid was "very important for us".

"We are still trying to lift the resistance from Hungary," she said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Ukraine's membership of the EU would "ruin" the 27-nation bloc.

Using its veto power, Hungary has effectively frozen the accession process.

Ukraine has insisted it still hopes Budapest can be brought around, claiming intensive work is being done "behind the scenes".

The Danish government said discussions at the Aarhus meeting would include increased military support, cooperation with the Ukrainian defence industry and new sanctions against Russia.

The Nordic nation has also made repeated calls for Europe to boost defence spending.

Denmark wants to move forward on a European plan presented in March to increase the defence capabilities of EU countries using simplified procedures and loans to finance investments in the European defence industry.

The Scandinavian country has already begun increasing its own defence spending, which now exceeds three percent of GDP.


Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director

Updated 03 July 2025
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Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director

  • Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, renowned cardiac surgeon, was killed in targeted Israeli airstrike
  • Israel has killed at least 492 doctors and health workers in Gaza since October 2023

JAKARTA/DUBAI: Israel’s assassination of Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, has sparked shock in Jakarta, with parliamentarians calling for new international accountability mechanisms to hold Israel legally responsible for its crimes in Gaza.

A renowned cardiac surgeon and one of Palestine’s most senior doctors, Dr. Al-Sultan graduated from Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Hyderabad, Pakistan, in 2001.

He was killed along with his wife and children in an Israeli airstrike on their temporary residence in northern Gaza on Wednesday.

His surviving daughter, Lubna, told the media that the missile “targeted his room exactly, right where he was.” Her testimony confirmed statements from the Gaza Ministry of Health and the Jakarta-based Medical Emergency Rescue Committee — which funded the Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia — that the attack was a targeted assassination.

“The attack on Dr. Marwan was utterly savage and barbaric,” Dr. Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C’s board of trustees, told Arab News.

“It was a shock to hear the news. I couldn’t believe it. He was the only heart specialist left in the north. This is a huge loss.”

The Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia, one of the biggest health facilities in Gaza, was one of the first targeted by Israel when it started its deadly war on the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.

Dr. Al-Sultan had never left his post, remaining with patients through multiple Israeli offensives on the hospital and personally overseeing repairs to restore essential services, MER-C said in a statement recalling how in December 2024, he evacuated the facility while under Israeli siege.

The moment was recorded on a mobile phone, showing Dr. Al-Sultan leaving only after he had ensured the safety of every patient.

The Indonesia Hospital opened in late 2015. Coordinated by MER-C, its construction and equipment were financed from donations of the Indonesian people, with dozens of engineers and builders volunteering to design and build the facility and to prepare its operations.

The killing of Dr. Al-Sultan has spurred outcry in Indonesia, with the government issuing an official condemnation and lawmakers from the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation calling on parliamentarians around the world to “push for international accountability mechanisms” to ensure that “crimes against humanity be immediately brought to international forums, including global parliamentary bodies, so that Israel can be held legally and morally accountable for its actions in Gaza.”

Israel has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 133,000 others, since October 2023. The true death toll is feared to be much higher, with research published in The Lancet medical journal in January estimating an underreporting of deaths by 41 percent.

The study says the death toll may be even higher, as it does not include deaths caused by starvation, injury and lack of access to health care, caused by the Israeli military’s destruction of most of Gaza’s infrastructure and the blocking of medical and food aid.

Data from the UN and international health organizations shows that Israel has killed at least 492 doctors and medics in Gaza since October 2023.

Dr. Al-Sultan is the 70th health care worker to be killed in the last 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch.

“He was a prominent medical figure, both as a heart specialist and director of the Indonesia Hospital,” Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of MER-C’s executive committee, told Arab News.

“We had feared that this could happen, but he had said that he would remain in Gaza and, if he were to be martyred, it would be in his homeland.”