Britain Arrests Prominent Pro-Palestinian Activists – Ian Welsh

For “supporting a banned organization.” In other words, Hamas. The arrests are made by the anti-terrorist police.

The Arrest of Sarah Wilkinson:

Police arrived at her home just before 7:30 a.m., 12 of them in total, some of them plainclothes counter-terrorism police. They said she was arrested for “content she posted online.” Her home is being searched and they have confiscated all of her electronic devices.

Others arrested include Richard Barnard, Richard Medhurst and Craig Murray.

This is the law under which they are charged:

I have long been against all “prohibition laws”. They destroy freedom of association and freedom of speech. In the US, RICO is the main villain, justified by the fact that they are used to tackle the Mafia, but they are all bad and they are all abused. If someone commits an actual crime, they should be charged, but freedom of association is fundamental and should not be curtailed. RICO should be unconstitutional, but somehow it isn’t. As for Britain, well, the laws on the books are draconian, but were often not enforced.

Starmer, the British Prime Minister, has always seen his job as crushing the left. That was clear when he was leader of the opposition and purged the party of the left, and now he has done something that even the Conservatives have failed to do, which is to protect a genocide. If you look at the austerity policies that his government is enforcing, it is clear that he is actually slightly worse than the Conservatives, which is quite an achievement. A monster in every sense.

In general, the West, and especially Europe, cracks down on freedom of speech. Strong, confident elites don’t need to do this. “Say what you want, it doesn’t matter” is how they think and feel, and they know that it’s better to let people talk than to act.

But weak elites, fearful elites, intervene.

Much of this boils down to “when times are good, people talk, but they rarely do.” In the best of times, most people fundamentally support the system. They want change, yes, but they pose no threat to the elite. But life in Britain has been getting worse for over four decades, and Corbyn has terrified the Labour establishment: he should never have been elected leader, and he should never have come close to winning his first election.

So crush, crush away. Give examples of people.

The same goes for France arresting the CEO of Telegram. This is all about fear mongering. Stay within the lines or we will crush you.

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