March organised by Iran-linked group banned after police request

 

Protesters at a previous Al Quds Day march in 2023 (Image: Anadolu via getty images)

According to the home secretary, the request from the police to prohibit the Al Quds Day march in London on Sunday in order to prevent "serious public disorder" in light of the Middle East conflict has been approved by the government. The Metropolitan Police asked for the ban saying it was concerned about the high number of protesters and counter-protesters, adding the march organisers were "supportive of the Iranian regime" .

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 The Islamic Human Rights Commission, who organise the annual march, insist it is a peaceful, pro-Palestinian event.  It says a static protest will take place instead.

 Since 2012, this is the first time a protest march has been banned. The Met said it had not taken the decision lightly.

Faisal Bodi, of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said a ban would mean a "sad day for freedom of expression".

 In a statement, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "I am satisfied doing so is necessary to prevent serious public disorder, due to the scale of the protest and multiple counter-protests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

 "The police will be able to impose strict conditions if a stationary demonstration proceeds. I expect to see the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division instead of exercising their right to peaceful protest."

 BBC London was informed by Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley that while he acknowledges the right to protest and freedom of speech, professional judgment and intelligence assessments indicated that the protests and counter-protests were "creating such a risk of violence that those marches needed to be banned." The force stated that the ban would be in effect starting at 16:30 on Wednesday for the Al Quds march as well as any associated counterprotest marches. It will run for a month. The Met described the Al Quds march as "uniquely contentious", saying it originated in Iran and it is organised by a group "supportive of the Iranian regime".

 "This Al Quds march has got more tricky in recent years, its history is it's a construct of the Khomeini regime in Iran, that creates a unique threat and provocation in the UK," Sir Mark said.

 "We've taken the unique step of going to the home secretary because the counter protests look just as hard."

Met Commissioner says request to ban Al Quds Day march was a 'unique step' (Image: BBC)

Noting that the power to ban a march had not been used since 2012, Sir Mark added: "The public should bear in mind the last time we did this was 14 years ago, so this is rarely used, but occasionally a set of factors come together which get us across the threshold."

 Previous Al Quds marches had "resulted in arrests for supporting terrorist organisations and antisemitic hate crimes", the force said.

 Reacting to the decision, London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said "one of the joys of living in a democracy" is the right to protest".

 However, in an interview with BBC London, he stated that the move "isn't diluting or diminishing the rights we have; it's this particular march the police have concerns with."

Outright ban 'extremely unusual'

Police can only prohibit a march if they believe it would cause serious public disorder and that restrictions would not prevent that disorder. The home secretary must approve the decision. Neither the police or the home secretary can ban static demonstrations, although conditions can be placed on them.

 It was a "very, very serious decision, but it would have been based on police intelligence," according to former Met Supt. Dal Babu, who currently serves on the London Policing Board, which reviews the department. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added: "There are restrictions placed on marches and demonstrations, but an outright ban is extremely unusual.

 "And I believe we need to have faith in the police and their judgment," Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, stated that the government is "very careful about these kinds of interventions" because "so long as you're legal and peaceful, you can protest on anything you like in this country." "We have freedom of speech and that's something that we all care about," he told BBC Breakfast.

 Al-Quds Day, which is celebrated on the last Friday of Ramadan and is named after the Arabic name for Jerusalem, is frequently observed. It was first held shortly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.  Marches are held around the world, with the largest in Iran.

 March organisers, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, describe it as an "international demonstration... in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world".

 Calls for the march to be banned grew after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Dozens of counter-protesters gathered during last year's march (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Speaking to Radio 4's The World Tonight programme before the ban was confirmed, Faisal Bodi said: "If it's true then it's a sad day for freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the right of people to legitimately protest about issues they feel strongly about."

 He stated, "This demonstration has taken place peacefully for the last 40 years." Bodi responded, "Happily," when asked if he would hold up a picture of the Iranian ayatollah. "I'd rather hold a picture of the ayatollah than Keir Starmer or Donald Trump.  Well he was a man of principle, a man of integrity, a man who stood for justice."

 Pressed on whether he was sympathetic to the Iranian regime, Bodi said: "No, I'm openly sympathetic to people who are on the right side of justice."

 In January, during the Iranian regime's crackdown on anti-government protests, thousands are believed to have been killed.

 "In the same way that I'd happily hold a picture of Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X and many other towering personalities," Bodi stated, referring to the ayatollah. Lord Walney, the former independent adviser to the government on political violence and disruption, stated on the same program that he thought the Met's request to prohibit the march was the "right decision." Hundreds of people participated in the Al Quds Day march through central London last year, and dozens participated in a Stop The Hate-organized counterprotest. The two groups were separated by police officers. One arrest was made in relation to an alleged offence under the Public Order Act, the force added.

 The Met stated at the time that ten people were detained during the march in 2024.

Source: BBC