Top UK rights groups have slammed the recent conviction of two prominent pro-Palestine activists as an attack on civil society freedoms, amid growing concern over a crackdown on pro-Palestine activism in the UK.
In a joint statement , members of the rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International UK, and Greenpeace UK, expressed dismay at the convictions of Ben Jamal, founder of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and Chris Nineham, founding member of the Stop the War Coalition (SWC).
"The conviction of Ben and Chris is a marked escalation in the government's wholesale assault on citizens right to peacefully protest in the UK," Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, one of the letter's co-signatories, told The New Arab .
"Not only has peaceful protest been criminalised, organisers are now being targeted. This is a direct attack on civil society and an incredibly chilling development."
The pair were found guilty of breaching police restrictions in April, while Jamal faced an additional charge of inciting protesters to do the same.
Ahmed notes it is "imperative we ring the alarm bell", adding that the British government is quick to assert people's fundamental right to protest, but that right is being "systematically eroded" in the UK.
"The right to protest belongs to everybody. It is an important check in a democratic system, not a gift to bestowed by those in power," Ahmed adds.
The letter states that the conviction "should alarm anyone who believes in our basic democratic human right to protest" and the "charges may cause a broader chilling effect for protest organisers".
"Jamal and Nineham's situation is emblematic of the sweeping powers police now possess to strangle peaceful protest," the letter reads.
"[The pair's] convictions are a testament to how far this country has swung towards adopting authoritarian approaches to protest, and the damage successive governments have done to our democratic rights to freedom of speech and assembly."
The signatories note that the UK previously condemned the governments of Georgia and Hong Kong for arresting civil society leaders and activists for their roles in organising peaceful protests.
"Jamal and Nineham's convictions are a major concern for organisations like ours. We are civil society leaders who peacefully stand up against injustice. We should not fear criminalisation for doing our jobs," the letter adds.
The letter says that human rights law requires the state to fulfil its positive obligation to facilitate peaceful protest and to impose only restrictions that are necessary and proportionate.
While the organisations' goals may differ, they emphasised that they "share a commitment to the core principle that peaceful protest is not a privilege to be granted by those in power, but a fundamental right that democratic governments should uphold and protect".
The statement highlights that civil liberties, workers' protections, votes for women, and environmental safeguards were won through protest.
"Recasting those same forms of action as inherently suspect risks forgetting that history and hollowing out the very rights that those struggles secured," the statement notes.
"These convictions are wrong, and the trajectory they put the UK on is one that anybody who cares about democracy should be alarmed about."
Both Jamal and Nineham were sentenced to 18 and 12 months' conditional discharge, respectively, and were ordered to pay £7,500 in prosecution costs each, in a move that has been described as sending a "chilling message" surrounding protesting for Palestine.