London police made 523 arrests on Saturday at a rally in Trafalgar Square against the ban on the Palestine Action group.
According to the Metropolitan Police, those arrested are suspected of having shown support for an organization classified as banned under British anti-terrorism legislation.
This demonstration was the first large-scale protest since a February ruling by the High Court in London deemed the ban on Palestine Action illegal. Despite this ruling, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was allowed to appeal.
The group was banned last July after controversial actions, including an intrusion onto a Royal Air Force base, amid high tensions related to the conflict in Gaza.
During the demonstration, hundreds of participants gathered with signs and Palestinian flags, some sitting on the ground in an atmosphere of peaceful protest.
These mass arrests have reignited the debate in the United Kingdom on the balance between law enforcement, freedom of expression and political protest, in a climate already tense due to the repercussions of the conflict in the Middle East.
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