UK Pro-Palestine Activists Found Guilty of Breaching Protest Conditions

Two prominent leaders in the Palestine solidarity movement in Britain have been found guilty of breaching protest conditions, in what campaigners called a “grotesque” and “shocking” decision.

Ben Jamal, 62, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and Chris Nineham, 63, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, were accused of failing to comply with conditions imposed on a protest on 18 January 2025. They were subsequently charged with public order offences.

The 18 January protest was one of 34 national pro-Palestine demonstrations held since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023. On Wednesday, Jamal and Nineham were found guilty after a trial at Westminster magistrates court. Judge Sternberg said in his verdict that the conditions imposed were lawful and necessary, and that both defendants clearly knew them.

Jamal was also convicted of two counts of inciting other protesters to breach police conditions. Sternberg said the speech Jamal made at the protest constituted incitement because it was “a suggestion, persuasion, and inducement” encouraging a breach of the conditions.

“Protest rights, while fundamental, are not absolute and do not permit breaching lawfully imposed conditions,” the judge said in his verdict. Jamal and Nineham said they would appeal against the convictions.

The Metropolitan police have faced significant criticism over their handling of the protest in central London, at which more than 70 people were arrested. Trade union leaders, legal experts, MPs and peers were among those calling for an independent inquiry into what they described as “repressive and heavy-handed policing” at the 18 January demonstration.

Campaigners vowed that the protest for Palestinian rights on 16 May would go ahead, despite the guilty verdicts. The case has sparked concerns about civil liberties and the right to protest in the UK.