Pro-Palestinian protest organisers Hizb ut-Tahrir to be proscribed as terrorist group
An extremist group that organised a pro-Palestine protest at which there were chants of “jihad” is to be banned in Britain for allegedly promoting Hamas, James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, has announced.
Hizb ut-Tahrir will join a list of more than 50 proscribed organisations, which includes Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, Hamas and the Russian Wagner mercenaries.
The move means it becomes an offence to be a member of the group or to support it, and carries a maximum jail sentence of up to 14 years and/or a fine of up to £5,000 for doing so.
Officials cited incidents including Hizb ut-Tahrir describing Hamas as “heroes” on its website, praising the Oct 7 attacks on Israel and celebrating attacks against Israel.
Two previous prime ministers, Lord Cameron and Sir Tony Blair, have sought to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir but backed off after protests by campaigners that it was a non-violent group and warnings by legal advisers that a ban would not be enforceable.
However, the surge in pro-Palestinian protests following Hamas’s terror attack on Israel are understood to have led to a review of the position.
In October, the Metropolitan Police issued a statement after a demonstration organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, saying it had reviewed footage of a man chanting “jihad, jihad”.
A Met spokesman said: “The word has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism. Specialist officers have assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip.”
In the same month, The Telegraph revealed how Hizb ut-Tahrir hosted an online event in which prominent members described the massacre of Israelis as “good news” and “egg on the face” of the Jewish state.
The event was one of several in which prominent UK-based Hizb ut-Tahrir members appeared to celebrate attacks by Hamas, despite the group previously insisting it “does not promote fear, criminality or terrorism”.
Prominent members called for “Muslim armies” to now “move to liberate the whole land of Palestine”. One article posted on Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain’s website, entitled “Let 7th October be remembered”, claimed Muslims were “overjoyed at the events”.
Proscription makes it a criminal offence to “belong” to a proscribed organisation, invite support for it (whether financial or moral backing or approval), express an opinion or belief that is supportive of the organisation, or arrange, manage or help organise a meeting of the group.
It also bans the wearing of clothing or displaying articles in public such as flags that would “arouse reasonable suspicion” that the individual is a member or supporter of the group, or publish an image or item of clothing or other article such as a flag or logo in the same circumstances.
Source » yahoo
