UK: Three pro-Palestinian protesters found guilty of terror offence over paraglider images

A court in the United Kingdom, on Tuesday (Feb 13) found three people guilty of a terror offence after they displayed images of paragliders at a pro-Palestine march in London a week after Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel.

‘You crossed the line’

The trio, identified as Heba Alhayek, 29, Pauline Ankunda, 26, and Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, were each handed a 12-month conditional discharge by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

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“You crossed the line, but it would have been fair to say that emotions ran very high on this issue,” said Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram giving his verdict. He added, “Your lesson has been well learned.”

Alhayek and Ankunda had reportedly taped images of paragliders to their backs while Taiwo stuck one to the handle of a placard during a pro-Palestinian protest in London on October 14, 2023.

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The protest took place a week after Hamas militants attacked Israel and killed nearly 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and tookmore than 240 others as hostages back to Gaza.

The three protesters were later charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act for carrying or displaying an article to causereasonable suspicion that they were supporters of a banned organisation, in this case, Hamas. The trio had denied the charges against them.

The verdict followed a two-day trial where prosecutors argued it was “no coincidence” the defendants were displaying the images merely days after the attack.

However, lawyer Mark Summers KC for Alhayek and Ankunda, argued that the police were “mistaken” about what they saw that day and termed them images of cartoon parachutes which are a “well-known nationalist symbol of peace”.

The idea that the image was of a paraglider started with “an internet group with an agenda,” said KC.

“Seven days earlier, Hamas went into Israel with what was described by the media as paragliders. A reasonable person would have seen and read that,” said the district court judge.

He added, “I want to be clear, there’s no evidence that any of these defendants are supporters of Hamas, or were seeking to show support for them.”

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The judge said he had “decided not to punish” the defendants while handing them the 12-month conditional discharge.

‘Glorification of the actions’ of Hamas

In response to the verdict, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that displaying the images amounted to the “glorification of the actions” of the Palestinian militant group.

“All three women knowingly displayed the images of paragliders in central London and therefore showed their support for Hamas – a proscribed terrorist organisation,” said Nick Price of CPSin a statement.

He added, “The fact that these images were being displayed in the context of a protest opposing the Israeli response to the Hamas attacks demonstrates a glorification of the actions taken by the group.”

(With inputs from agencies)