A comrade of Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! has been charged, and another has been arrested, under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in an intensification of the criminalisation of Palestine solidarity. Our comrade Sarah is due to attend the Old Bailey on 11 April, where we will mobilise to demand that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) drops all charges against Sarah and discontinues all its investigations in relation to alleged Terrorism Act offences against the other student.
The right to express any support for the Palestinian struggle for national liberation is at stake in this case. We therefore urge all supporters of Palestinian self-determination to join the protest and support the SOAS 2 Defence Campaign.
Free speech under attack
On 4 March 2025, Sarah, a student at SOAS University of London, was charged with inviting support for a proscribed organisation under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. In October 2023, online Zionists tagged the Metropolitan Police in a video allegedly of the comrade giving a speech at SOAS University the same month, expressing support for the right of Palestinians to armed resistance against occupation and ethnic cleansing by the Israeli state. Under pressure from UK Lawyers for Israel, the Met Police arrested her in a dawn raid on 31 January 2024. The CPS waited a further 13 months before bringing charges.
On 4 March 2025, a second SOAS student and comrade of FRFI was also arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act, in a crude attempt at intimidation. The alleged terrorism offence carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison. This calculated targeting of two young supporters of FRFI is an attempt to intimidate and censor any expression of support for the Palestinian freedom struggle. It is an attack on the entire solidarity movement.
United Nations General Assembly resolution 37/43 of 3 December 1982 and the Geneva Conventions Protocol 1 explicitly give the Palestinians and all oppressed peoples the right to resist their oppressors by any available means including armed struggle. A conviction in this case would have devastating consequences for freedom of speech in Britain. It would mean that anyone expressing support for the right of oppressed peoples to resist racism, colonialism and occupation could be imprisoned under terrorism legislation.
An injury to one is an injury to all
The campaign to defend the SOAS 2 has already attracted huge support.
On 24 March, over 100 protesters gathered outside Westminster Magistrates Court to show support for comrade Sarah as she attended her first court hearing. Supporters of the SOAS 2 also filled the court’s public gallery. The prosecution was heard paraphrasing the loathsome Margaret Thatcher’s 1985 address to the American Bar Association in which she advocated repressing free speech in the context of the Irish liberation struggle, saying that ‘democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity’.
The court solidarity picket was organised by Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! and joined by organisations including International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network UK, Movement for Justice, the Partisan Defence Committee and Young Struggle. In a powerful moment, Sarah and other supporters who had been in the hearing emerged from the court building to the sound of massive cheers and chants. Comrade Sarah made a clear statement to the crowd: ‘We will not be silenced!’
On 27 March, Sarah addressed a crowd of 300 protesters at the Old Bailey in a court solidarity action for the Filton 18, Palestine Action prisoners held on remand under terrorism powers since August 2024. She called for solidarity with all political prisoners and to condemn the true criminals, those supporting the genocide of the Palestinian people.
The support on the streets has been matched by expressions of solidarity from a broad range of individuals and organisations. A petition launched on 11 March on change.org demanding that the charges against Sarah be dropped has so far been signed by over 2,000 people, from London to Lebanon. Additionally, an open letter to the CPS demanding the charges and all investigations against the SOAS 2 are dropped has already garnered support from over 65 international organisations, academics, activists, artists, journalists, legal professionals and trade unionists.
This show of strength is a sign that the SOAS 2 have many comrades behind them – collective action will be the key to victory.
FRFI calls on all progressive people to act now:
Sign and share the petition here at change.org/defendsoas2
Protest at the Old Bailey 11 April, 9.30am
Follow @defendsoas2 on Instagram
