On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators were expected to march through London for al-Quds Day, an annual demonstration in support of Palestinian rights. But the march, which has taken place in the UK for more than 40 years, has been banned by home secretary, Shabana Mahmood.
Announcing her decision to ban the march after a request by the Metropolitan police, Mahmood said she was “satisfied doing so is necessary to prevent serious public disorder, due to the scale of the protest and multiple counterprotests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East”.
It is the first time a protest march has been banned since 2012.
What is al-Quds Day march?
Al-Quds Day was created by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after Iran’s 1979 revolution. Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem.
The march is billed as an international day in support of Palestine that is often celebrated on the last Friday of Ramadan.
Who is behind the march in London?
It is organised by the UK al-Quds Committee, which involves several organisations and in which the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) plays a central role. Organisers say the annual march has taken place peacefully for 40 years to highlight the continuing plight of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The IHRC recently condemned the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The group described him as a leader who “resisted oppression and stood on the right side of history”.
Why were there calls for the march to be banned?
It has been criticised after some participants were previously seen waving the flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is banned in the UK as a terrorist organisation. Rhetoric, including chants calling for the death of America and Israel, has also been highlighted in the past.
The IHRC had warned demonstrators before that flags of proscribed groups are not allowed and that those who waved them or chanted in support of such organisations could be arrested.
Calls to ban the march first intensified after comments by the courts minister, Sarah Sackman, who told LBC radio on Tuesday: “Those expressing support for the malign regime in Iran and the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and its proxies have no place in our society. They shouldn’t be on the streets of London calling for hate and hostility against this country.
“That’s thoroughly anti-British and I expect the police and the home secretary to take the necessary action against those people.”
What did the police and Home Office say?
The Metropolitan police said the home secretary accepted their request to ban Sunday’s al-Quds march, as well as any planned counterprotests. The plan will be in place from 4pm on Wednesday 11 March and last for a month.
“The threshold to ban a protest is high and we do not take this decision lightly,” a spokesperson for the Met said. “This is the first time we have used this power since 2012.”
The Met said the decision was based on the high risk of serious public disorder, citing the expected numbers of protesters and counterprotesters and heightened tensions linked to the Iran war.
It also pointed to security concerns about alleged Iranian state activity in the UK, including the recent arrest of four people suspected of spying on Jewish communities. Separately, a man was reportedly stabbed at the weekend by someone with opposing views on the Iranian regime.
The home secretary added: “Should a stationary demonstration proceed, the police will be able to apply strict conditions. I expect to see the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division instead of exercising their right to peaceful protest.”
What have the organisers said?
The IHRC described calls to ban the march as an Islamophobic hate campaign. In a statement on the organisation’s website, the IHRC said it “strongly condemns” the decision to ban the march and was seeking legal advice.
Confirming a static protest would legally go ahead on Sunday, the statement said: “The police have brazenly abandoned their sworn principle of policing without fear or favour. They cannot present evidence because there is none.”
Before the ban, the group had written to the Met police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, calling for measures to ensure the safety of attenders at this year’s march. It said the demonstration had been falsely accused of being antisemitic and supporting terrorism, and that critics were demonising peaceful protesters, which could encourage violence.
The commission pointed to an incident in 2017, when the convicted terrorist Darren Osborne hired a van and planned to ram people attending the march. A judge later said he was unable to do so because police safety cordons prevented him from reaching the crowd. Instead, Osborne drove his van into worshippers gathered outside Finsbury Park mosque, killing one and injuring 12 others.
