On 19 July, the SOAS 2 Defence Campaign and FRFI hosted a Rally Against Repression, with the aim of bringing together groups and individuals to form a broad defence campaign for the Palestine movement in the face of increasing state repression.
Les Levidow from the Campaign Against Criminalising Communities provided historical context on the Terrorism Act (TA) 2000, while Kotsai Sigauke of the Revolutionary Communist Group spoke about state repression today, its effects on Palestine solidarity, and the way forward for the movement. These two speeches set the political context and principal themes of the meeting.
Abel of the SOAS Liberated Zone then spoke, detailing the role played by students in challenging the complicity of British universities in Zionist crimes. Students at SOAS University of London have faced suspensions, bans on entering campus, and an injunction banning protest. We then played a video message of solidarity from the Defend Anasse Kazib Campaign in France. Anasse Kazib is a French trade unionist who was arrested in April 2024 for ‘apology for terrorism’, for tweets from October 2023 in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The video message explained in clear terms the need for political prosecutions to be met with political defences, both inside and outside the courtroom; and reiterated the international nature of the struggle against repression.
Pedro Blattmann, Yael Kahn, Francesca Nadin, and Sarah of the SOAS 2 then spoke about their experiences of repression for their Palestine activism. Pedro has had several run-ins with the Met Police for banners and placards. In one particularly absurd incident, it was the ‘clear blue sky’ in a banner depicting a dove flying over the apartheid wall with the word ‘free’ above it, which prompted the police to arrest Pedro and three others under Section 13 of the TA 2000, alleging that the ‘clear blue sky’ was a reference to 7 October 2023, which was a similarly clear day. Yael Kahn, an Israeli Jewish activist and the daughter of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust, is being tried under the Public Order Act for a sign with the words ‘Nazi Israel’. Francesca Nadin is a former political prisoner who was held on remand for over nine months following actions she took against an arms factory; she continues to await sentencing. Sarah was arrested and charged under Section 12 of the TA 2000 for a speech she allegedly delivered at her university, in support of the Palestinians’ right to self-defence. Each speaker stressed the need for unity, urgency, and organisation in fighting state repression.
The discussion afterwards focused on what a broad defence campaign could look like and what its focus should be. Francesca Nadin had announced earlier in her speech the start of a new group, Prisoners for Palestine, to organise prisoners on the question of Palestine; emphasising prisons as a key site of political struggle. An audience member raised the possibility of raising funds for those arrested for legal support. Others raised the need for greater centralisation of court dates and other like events so all criminalised individuals can be supported. Another point raised was that of needing to oppose the TA 2000 in its entirety. Attendees emphasised the importance of the task at hand and the implications of the current struggle for our freedom to speak out and protest.
The real work starts now: join us in building a defence campaign for the whole of the Palestine movement! Defend the right to Defend Palestine!
Sarah Guebre-Egziabher
Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! 307 August/September 2025
