- 67-year-old retired teacher arrested under terrorism laws
LONDON: Ian Hislop, editor of British satirical magazine Private Eye, has condemned the arrest of 67-year-old protester John Farley, who was detained under terrorism laws for displaying a cartoon mocking the government’s ban on the Palestine Action movement.
Farley, a retired teacher, was arrested under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act after holding a placard with a Private Eye cartoon at a silent protest in Leeds’ Gaza Strip.
Hislop criticised the arrest as “ridiculous” and a “gross misunderstanding of satire”, saying the cartoon was “an example of free speech” aimed at government policy, The Guardian reported.
Hislop added: “So it’s not hard to understand. It’s important, but it’s very clear that it’s a joke. It seems completely inconceivable to me that someone would be arrested for putting that up.”
Farley, a regular at the demonstrations, said he took the cartoon to the Leeds protest after learning that Israeli forces had killed 32 Palestinians seeking aid that day.
“I saw it in Private Eye and thought, ‘That’s really well thought out – there’s nuance to it.’ But I don’t think the police get the nuance,” he told the Guardian, referring to a cartoon styled as a humorous guide called “Explaining the Palestinians,” which contrasted Britain’s heavy-handed response to protests with its tolerance of lethal force against Palestinians.
Farley added that officers handcuffed him and took him to a police van before he could explain the satirical origins of the poster.
He was released six hours later without charge but on bail, under which he was banned from attending rallies in support of Palestine Action, a group the UK government classified as terrorist after it stormed a military base and destroyed a military plane.
Farley is one of dozens of people arrested since the ban for holding signs purporting to support the group.
The former teacher demanded an apology and expressed concern about the “complete lack of clarity” in the police actions.
West Yorkshire Police said they would look into the incident and acknowledged confusion after Palestine Action was declared a proscribed organisation earlier this month.