On the eve of the upcoming Old Bailey retrial of our comrade Sarah Cotte, the SOAS 2 Defence Campaign convened an online rally bringing together activists, campaigners and legal experts. The event served as an important platform to mobilise grassroots opposition to state repression and counter-terrorism measures directed at the pro-Palestine movement in Britain, and to outline a unified strategy to resist the growing criminalisation of anti-imperialist speech and direct action.
The first speaker was Adil from CAGE International who gave a historical account of terrorism legislation, emphasising that we need to oppose this in its entirety, and that it is specifically designed to criminalise political beliefs and resistance against the British state. He gave examples of people who have been subject to the same prosecution as Sarah, including Tony Greenstein and Majid Freeman.
Maya from FRFI Brighton then spoke about the way she has been doxxed by local Zionists and now faces public order charges for using the words ‘Victory to the Intifada!’. Yulia of the Filton 25 talked about the criminalisation of direct-action protesters and the retrial which she and her co-accused now face. Barrister Franck Magennis from Riverway to the Sea delivered a powerful contribution on the racist and violent character of the British state. He emphasised that the fight against Zionism must also confront British imperialism, the need for active resistance and steadfast solidarity with the Palestinian resistance.
Finally, Sarah spoke about her case and made a strong political call for solidarity with all people facing repression for their support for the Palestinian resistance. She emphasised that we are stronger when we organise collectively.
The discussion which followed addressed why mainstream organisations – such as the official Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) – have never directly opposed the Terrorism Act or defended those under attack. Participants argued that genuine solidarity requires unapologetically confronting the legal architecture used to censor activists, and to push for a complete scrapping of the Terrorism Act, the IHRA definition of antisemitism and all legal apparatuses used to silence our movement.
The webinar concluded with an urgent fundraising appeal, calling on supporters to contribute via the campaign’s PayPal link and join active organising efforts through the campaign’s official WhatsApp group.
Sarah’s retrial starts on Monday 14 September. We will be outside the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court from 10am. Join us there. An injury to one is an injury to all!
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