CAGE Managing Director arrested for participating in Defend our Juries’ civil disobedience action

_London _**- **CAGE International’s Managing Director Muhammad Rabbani is amongst 442 people arrested thus far for participating in Defend our Juries’ Lift the Ban protest today at Trafalgar Square. 

Taking a principled stance in defiance of the proscription of Palestine Action, and exposing the absurdity of counter-terrorism laws in the UK, Rabbani carried a placard stating: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

On the eve of the second anniversary of the Gaza genocide, the fourth mass civil disobedience demonstration by Defend our Juries was supported by over thousand people, with arrests continuing into the night. 

CAGE International was joined by 47 other organisations at the demonstration as part of a ‘Witness Bloc’ to document the state’s heavy-handed response to the action and to offer support to those participating in civil disobedience. 

Head of Public Advocacy at CAGE International, Anas Mustapha, said:

“Muhammad Rabbani has taken a principled position in standing alongside campaigners from Defend our Juries in opposition to the proscription of Palestine Action and the live streamed Gaza genocide. It is important that Muslims across the board continue demonstrating courageous leadership in the face of the genocide and ongoing occupation of Palestine. Even as a ceasefire of sorts may be on the horizon, apartheid Israel’s occupation continues.”

“After today’s action, there will be some 2000 people across the UK arrested under counter-terrorism legislation. We’re at the point where the absurdity and injustice of the counter-terror infrastructure in the UK is clear for all to see. These authoritarian laws continue being used by the state to restrict civil liberties and must be abolished.”