In advance of her trial, which starts on 22 June 2026 at the Old Bailey, FRFI spoke to Sarah of the SOAS 2, a Palestine activist and FRFI supporter facing terrorism charges for her principled support of the Palestinian people.
FRFI: Can you tell us a bit about what your alleged crime is and what you’ve been charged with?
Sarah: I was charged under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act which criminalises expressions of support for proscribed organisations and the specific allegation here is that I expressed support for Hamas. The alleged ‘offence’ was a speech that I delivered outside my university back in October 2023, over two and a half years ago.
In this speech, I spoke on behalf of the SOAS Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! student society, and I expressed support for the Palestinian resistance and for the right of the Palestinian people to armed struggle when they fight back against occupation and genocide. This is a really basic right that occupied peoples have, that they can wage armed struggle for their liberation – it’s in the Geneva Convention, and so resolved by the UN General Assembly. You can go check it out.
This speech was filmed and shared online by Zionists who doxxed me, put my full name, my university and other details on Twitter for everyone to see. UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) specifically reported me to the Met Police. UKLFI is a well known Zionist organisation, they do the police’s work essentially in finding people who they claim have committed ‘crimes’, usually it’s just standing up for the Palestinians, against Zionism and against police repression.
Four months later, in January 2024, I was arrested during a dawn raid on my home. My devices were seized, political literature was seized, my keffiyeh was seized. I was taken to the police station, interviewed and released on bail. I was on bail for over a year, until March 2025, when I was charged under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act. On the same day that I was charged, another one of our comrades was also arrested for a similar offence, while supporting me at the police station. That’s how we became the SOAS 2.
It’s now been over a year since I was charged and my trial is just a month away on 22 June at the Old Bailey, so we’re now mobilising for that, building a political defence campaign and carrying this through to the end.
FRFI: Can you tell us a little more about the Terrorism Act and what it’s designed to do.
Sarah: That’s a really important question, because this terrorism legislation doesn’t come out of nowhere. The Terrorism Act 2000 was not the first piece of terrorism legislation in this country. That was the 1974 Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), brought in by a Labour government specifically to crush support for the Irish liberation struggle. Under the PTA, innocent Irish people were arrested, brutalised by the police and thrown into prison. This was part of the state’s efforts to repress an anti-imperialist movement both in the Occupied Six Counties of Ireland and on the streets of Britain.
In 2000, under the Tony Blair-led Labour government, those powers were expanded so that the state also had the power to proscribe not just Irish organisations, but also Kurdish, Palestinian, Tamil and Basque organisations, and its powers of repression were greatly enhanced.
Today what we’re seeing is that the Terrorism Act 2000 is being used systematically to repress pro-Palestine protesters. It’s really important that we oppose terrorism legislation as a whole, and not just speak of it being misused, because its very objective in the first place is to target anti-imperialists, to target people who stand in solidarity with liberation movements. That’s what it’s there for. It was never about keeping us safe. Our demand is for the Terrorism Act and all such legislation to be scrapped.
FRFI: You’re not the only one who’s been targeted under these terrorism laws, and if you do get convicted, this will affect the rest of the Palestine movement.
Sarah: Absolutely. Part of why we built this political campaign is because we understand that the consequences of a conviction go much further than my personal life. It attacks our ability to speak out in support of Palestine, in support of the Palestinian resistance in particular and the right of armed struggle. It represses our ability to mobilise, to protest, to maintain and build up the movement that we have on the streets.
Anyone who stands with the Palestinian people, with Palestinian liberation, we expect them to be outside of the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court from 22 June, in the same way that I and a lot of our comrades from Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! have consistently been outside the courts, outside the prisons, outside the police stations, when people from across the movement have been targeted by the state. This is not just a case of individuals being targeted by the state, it’s an issue of a political movement being targeted by the state and it’s really important that we frame it in that way.
FRFI: Besides protesting on 22 June outside the Old Bailey, are there any other ways that people can support you and support the SOAS 2?
Sarah: Yes, there are many ways to help us and to help support the campaign. If you can’t be there physically on 22 June and the days following, you can donate to our campaign on our website. It always costs money organising these campaigns, bringing out banners and placards, printing leaflets, organising transport. There’s a lot of hidden costs people don’t realise. You can also circulate our petitions, circulate our social media posts to bring awareness to our campaign and what we’re doing on the streets, and follow us on social media.
SUPPORT THE SOAS 2!
Come to the pre-trial public meeting and mobilising rally that we’re holding on Sunday 14 June 2-4pm at Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London E1 5QJ. Speakers will include Sarah from the SOAS 2, alongside a speaker from Prisoners for Palestine/Free the Brize Norton 6 and a comrade from Brighton speaking about their experience of organising against Zionist attacks and police repression there.
Show up at the Central Criminal Court Old Bailey, London EC4M 7EH from 9.30am on Monday 22 June and every day until the trial is finished. We will keep up a political presence throughout the trial with chants, speeches, performances, and displays. Bring your banners and use our open mic! Follow @defendsoas2 on Instagram for updates.
For more on the SOAS 2 go to defendsoas2.org
