Starmer's BRUTAL Crackdown On Palestine Voices BACKFIRES!

6 months ago
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Right, so in a democracy, one that believes in freedom of speech and freedom of expression anyway, the right to dissent, peacefully of course, is supposed to be sacrosanct. The ability to criticise state policies, challenge injustice, and advocate for the oppressed is not just a privilege—it is supposed to be the very foundation of a free society. Well not under Keir it isn’t, because not only is this not true, it is not true to frankly ridiculous proportions now, he has jumped the shark by several orders of magnitude at this point. What began as a disturbing trend of suppressing pro-Palestine voices has now descended into outright authoritarianism, with the UK government weaponising anti-terror legislation to effectively criminalise solidarity with Palestine, but not only that, actually criminalise anyone standing up against the real thing now too.
From arresting journalists and activists as has been covered previously on this channel, to now detaining academics and even targeting an individual for wearing a Palestine-themed jumper, Starmer’s crackdown has reached new depths of absurdity and repression. This has nothing to do with fighting terrorism or defending our national security whatsoever, it is about enforcing political conformity, shielding Israel from accountability, and punishing those who dare to speak out against its atrocities, so the question is no longer whether Starmer’s government is abusing its power, but rather who’s interests is Keir Starmer really serving here by doing so?
Right, so in recent months, we have borne witness to more and more incidents of abuse of the UK terrorism legislation all adding up to a disturbing trend of weaponising anti-terrorism legislation to silence pro-Palestinian voices. Under Keir Starmer, the government has increasingly employed the Terrorism Act to target journalists, activists, and now even academics who express solidarity with Palestine.
The Terrorism Act 2000 was supposedly passed to combat genuine threats to national security, but under Starmer’s authoritarian regime has been repurposed instead to increasingly suppress dissenting opinions. One of the most egregious examples which is once again back in the alternative news anyway, God forbid the mainstream ever cover such things is the case of Richard Medhurst, the Syrian-born independent British journalist, son of Nobel prize winning humanitarian workers, who’s lived in and reported on experiences in the Middle East are basically second to none, he was literally raised amongst so much of what we bear witness to in this day and age in the likes of Syria and Gaza and combined with his dedication to legitimate journalism, has apparently made himself a threat. Arrested last August under the Terrorism Act, accused of supporting a proscribed group, he was later released and went to stay in Austria, basing himself there for the last several months, where his apartments were also raided, in his mind at the behest of the British government and who’d frankly disagree with that when journalism is now apparently a crime when it means you call out Israel genocide and stand up for those they oppress? Well now Medhurst has been ordered to surrender to UK police at Heathrow Airport on May 15, officially under the suspicion of breaching anti-terrorism laws, but in reality because he dares to be an impartial Middle East journalist and reporter. Medhurst himself tweeted out on the matter saying:
‘Criminalisation of journalism: I must surrender myself at Heathrow police station in exactly one month (May 15), unless they decide to drop their investigation, extend it again for the third time, or charge me under the Terrorism Act.’
This move, along with those that have come before has been widely condemned as an attempt to intimidate and silence journalists, by others in the independent and alternative news networks, who challenge the government's stance on Israel, so nobody in the mainstream is saying a thing in which case.
Similarly, other individuals have faced legal action for their pro-Palestinian views, Medhurst’s initial arrest being just the beginning of what has grown to be this disturbing trend. Journalist Sarah Wilkinson also arrested, activist Natalie Strecker arrested, charged and going on trial under terror legislation in Jersey, for having done nothing more than call out Israel and stand up for Palestine. Electronic Intifada journalist Asa Winstanley having his home raided and Jewish activist Tony Greenstein also being put on trial, accused of supporting a proscribed organisation. All hare critics of Israeli atrocity, the one common denominator and so these actions suggest a coordinated establishment effort to suppress free expression and discourage public support for Palestine.
But matters have worsened even further now as the government's crackdown has extended beyond journalists and activists to now include academics. Professor Makram Khoury-Machool, a British-Palestinian scholar from Cambridge University, was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Good Friday. He and his eight-year-old son were detained under Section 7 of the Terrorism Act, a provision that allows for questioning without any suspicion of terrorist intent. It is defined as per Skwawkbox’s coverage of this story as:
‘Section 7 grants police and immigration officers the power to stop, question, search, and detain individuals entering or leaving the UK at ports, airports, or the border area – and, because they are detained rather than arrested, to refuse access to a lawyer and the right to remain silent and not answer questions. If arrested at a port, it is a criminal offence not to disclose device passwords, allowing the state to grossly invade the privacy of the victim.
S7 does not even require actual suspicion of any involvement in terrorism – it is worded to allow detention if police say they want to find out if the person is or has been involved in the “commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism”.’
Therefore this provision has been criticised for its potential for abuse, as it grants authorities very broad powers to detain individuals without any evidence of any wrongdoing, a blunt tool to club people over the head with if they speak out of turn about matters the Starmer regime frowns deeply upon.
The arrest of Professor Khoury-Machool underscores a troubling evolution of this abuse now though, moving on from journalism and activism to the potential criminalisation of academic discourse for the sake of Israel. Scholars who engage in research or public commentary on Palestine, as Khoury-Machool has, he called out Starmer on Twitter last August for example over the case of Richard Medhurst, are increasingly at risk of legal repercussions themselves, threatening the fundamental principles of academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas. Its another facet of the clampdown on freedom of speech and expression.
Keir Starmer being who he is though, a hypocrite as well as a liar, he publicly declared his commitment to protecting journalism just last year,, not 6 months ago, stating that "journalism is the lifeblood of British democracy" and pledging to combat strategic lawsuits against public participation, SLAPPs as they’re called to protect investigative journalism. However, his actions of course tell a different story. While he condemns SLAPPs in principle, his government has taken no concrete steps to outlaw them. Yet far from doing that, Starmer's administration has failed to address the abuse of anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent and arguably is behind the drive to silence pro Palestine voices by abusing the law themselves to do so.
The misuse of anti-terrorism legislation to target pro-Palestinian voices has drawn criticism both domestically and internationally. The United Nations has expressed concern over the UK's treatment of journalists and activists, a group of UN Special Rapporteurs back in February warning that such actions violate international human rights standards. Additionally, a coalition of religious groups, Churches Together, which includes the Quakers, has condemned the government's aggressive tactics, citing incidents like the raid on the Quaker Meeting House in Westminster last month as evidence of governmental over reach in the repression of free speech and freedom of expression, not mention freedom to protest and to worship in this case as well.
But the most ridiculous and extreme example of over-reach came just yesterday with the detainment of an individual at Heathrow Airport for wearing a jumper featuring a map of Palestine and even more crazily, they were detained not under the Terrorism Act, but under the Firearms Act! Jumpers are now firearms! How else can that be interpreted? Authorities detained the man, seemingly equating a piece of clothing with a map of Palestine decorated with the pattern of the keffiyeh on the front of it, with a weapon.
What had this person done? He had attempted to raise the alarm to the police of the war criminal that passes for Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar leaving the UK, having enjoyed secret meetings with David Lammy and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, for which Lammy had provided him with immunity and that immunity it seems, can get you arrested for wearing a jumper!
There is no extent to which the Starmer regime won’t stretch to, to cover for Israel, it is so out of control now its crazy.
So in response to these developments, a petition has now been launched calling for the repeal of the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Terrorism Act 2006. The petition has been co-sponsored by former Labour MP Chris Williamson, and it seeks to end the government's use of anti-terrorism laws to stifle free speech and dissent. It is not getting nearly enough attention, so if you are sick and tired as I am of this government abusing UK law for the sake of a foreign committing genocide and all manner of other atrocities on other war fronts for no other reason that to keep Benjamin Netanyahu’s disgusting backside in power, please sign it, I will as ever attach the petition to the YouTube comments. Either we take a stand and make ourselves heard against the erosion of civil liberties and this government's disregard for democratic principles or we’re just sitting by letting it happen.
The actions of Keir Starmer's government are of grave misuse of UK law to suppress pro-Palestinian voices. By weaponising anti-terrorism legislation, the government is undermining the fundamental rights of its citizens and betraying its commitment to democracy and free speech. The international community's criticism and the domestic outcry against these practices should serve as a wake up call to all of us of the importance of safeguarding civil liberties, because if we sit by and let this carry on we will lose them.
At the start I asked who is Keir Starmer really serving and the answer is not the British people. Not when journalists reporting the truth get arrested for it. Not when people wearing dangerous jumpers get detained. Not when academics lose their academic freedom for speaking out for Palestine. Not when the UN are condemning the government and not when churches of all manner of denominations here in the UK are doing likewise as well. If they can find their voices if they can stand up to the government in spite of what they face, we can all at bare minimum sign a ruddy petition can’t we?
For more on Lammy and the BoD meeting Gideon Sa’ar, not to mention the mainstream media cover up surrounding it, most notably by the BBC, collusion with the Starmer regime as this ostensibly appears to be, do check out this video recommendation here as your suggested next watch. Please do also hit like, share and subscribe if you haven’t done so already, so as to ensure you don’t miss out on all new daily content as well as supporting the channel at the same time which is very much appreciated, holding power to account for ordinary working class people and I will hopefully catch you on the next vid. Cheers folks.

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