Like other police forces across the country, Sussex Police are cracking down on Palestine solidarity and have been increasingly willing to make arrests. Brighton FRFI have experienced two arrests this year for our Palestine work and recently witnessed a third arrest of another pro-Palestine activist. All have been at the overt behest of local Zionists.
As we reported in FRFI 311, on 14 March a comrade was arrested for a supposed racially aggravated public order offence, for having used a chant which included the word ‘Intifada’ two weeks earlier, following her targeting by local Zionists. She is currently on police bail. On 17 June we witnessed a protester being similarly arrested for allegedly using the slogan ‘Yalla, yalla intifada!’ on the local Palestinian Day of Resistance protest.. Intifada is a long-used Arabic word to describe Palestinian struggle and its criminalisation attacks not only our right to protest in Britain but the very right of Palestinians to fight back against Zionist oppression.
On 9 May, another Brighton FRFI comrade was brutally arrested under section 4(A) of the Public Order Act. This time, 15 minutes after we had set up a pro-Palestine stall in opposition to the antagonistic presence of a local Zionist group, three Zionists reported our placards to the police for allegedly containing images of ‘upside-down red triangles’. The police asked us to put the placards away, and when the comrade asked that the police show the legislation that prohibits them from being displayed, he was violently arrested and taken to the police station. While he was detained, the police raided his home.
This shows a clear pattern of increased political policing. Sussex police are the enforcers of British imperialism; this is their job. But it is ours to fight back against this state repression. We will continue to exercise our right to protest and will use all legal and political means to demand that no charges are brought against any of our comrades.
Victory to the Intifada!
Resist state repression!
