Targeted: The Criminalisation of Palestine Solidarity
Event Details
Majid Freeman, a respected humanitarian and community organiser from Leicester, is facing terrorism charges for sharing words of solidarity with Palestine. His case is a chilling example of the British state's intensifying crackdown on those who oppose genocide. From the courtroom to the classroom, Palestine solidarity is being surveilled, censored and criminalised.
This repression is widespread. Students are being harassed and disciplined for organising walkouts and encampments. Health workers, teachers and community leaders face threats to their careers for standing with Palestine. And most recently, Defend Our Juries carried out a powerful act of civil disobedience outside the Old Bailey drawing widespread attention on the most fundamental concerns of our time and for this, they now face charges.
The message from the state is clear: dissent will not be tolerated, and moral courage will be punished. All of this is happening as the UK continues to arm, fund and provide diplomatic cover for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. While British complicity fuels mass killing, those who call it out are branded as extremists. Solidarity with Palestine is being treated as a threat.
Majid Freeman’s prosecution marks a dangerous escalation one that affects us all. If speaking up can be branded terrorism, what space remains for conscience, protest or truth? This moment demands unity, clarity and resistance.
Speakers
Moazzam Begg
Senior Director
A British-born Muslim, Moazzam Begg is a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner and outreach director for CAGE.
After his release, he became one of the most prominent public-speakers and Muslim advocates for justice and dialogue.
He is the author of the best-seller Enemy Combatant in which he recounts his experience as an innocent man detained and torture at Guantanamo, Bagram and Kandahar.
The Muslim 500 listed him as one of the 500 “most influential Muslims” in the world.
The New Statesman listed him in the top 50 “Heroes of our time”.
He has travelled extensively to investigate state abuses and western complicity in torture including to Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria.
A direct eye-witness to the conflicts in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Syria, his life has been recorded by the Columbia University Oral History project, and the BBC Storyville documentary, The Confession.
Majid Freeman
Well known in his home city of Leicester, and the broader activist community, Majid is a British Muslim, hafidh of the Quran and charity aid worker. He has long served local and international humanitarian causes, and uses his online platforms to raise awareness of the plight of those suffering persecution and harm.
Tim Crossland
Human rights lawyer
Tim Crosland is a human rights lawyer with Defend Our Juries, a group campaigning for the de-proscription of Palestine Action. Previously Tim was a criminal defence barrister, who spent time working on death row appeals in New Orleans. He has also worked as a government lawyer. Since 2015 Tim has been a director of the climate justice charity Plan B. He was disbarred in 2021 for ‘contempt of court’ and is currently under police investigation for holding a sign saying, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Sarah - SOAS 2
Sarah is a supporter of Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! and a student at SOAS university of London. She was arrested in January 2024 and charged in March of this year under section 12 of the Terrorism Act for her support of the Palestinian people's right to resist occupation. She has been involved in the SOAS2 Defence Campaign.
London - UK