Police in London have begun arresting protesters supporting the Palestine Action organization during a demonstration outside Parliament.
The organization has been labeled a terrorist organization by British authorities. It took just twelve minutes from the official start of the demonstration before the first arrests of people with placards shouting slogans.
Police have not said how many people have been arrested so far, but Reuters witnesses have observed dozens of arrests.
Mike Higgins, 62, who is blind and uses a wheelchair, was arrested at an earlier demonstration when more than 500 people were arrested. He returned on Saturday.
He feels that he has no choice and calls it a joke that he is being characterized as a terrorist.
– I have already been arrested under terrorism legislation, and I suspect I will be arrested again today, he says.
Palestine Action was banned in July after members entered a military air base in southern England and caused millions of pounds worth of damage to two aircraft.
"I have come to support the action because it is scandalous that the authorities are banning a protest group using terrorism legislation. It is a gagging of freedom of expression," says 69-year-old Franco Ferrer.
