Protest Law

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has accused An Garda Síochána of a "wholly disproportionate use of force" at a Palestine protest in Dublin on Saturday. The NGO alleges that gardaí adopted a "heavy-handed policing approach" to a group of protesters who marched to blo

Amnesty International has accused the PSNI of breaching human rights law after a woman was arrested for allegedly wearing a T-shirt showing support for banned group Palestine Action. The 74-year-old woman was arrested in Belfast on Saturday, while others received cautions for wearing T-shirts with t

UK government plans to ban Palestine Action under terrorism legislation are "excessive and disproportionate" and arguably unlawful, human rights organisations have warned. The UK's home secretary, Yvette Cooper, yesterday confirmed in a written statement to MPs that she intends to proscribe the prot

Plans to give gardaí new powers to order protesters to remove face coverings risk creating a "chilling effect" on freedom of expression, campaigners have warned. Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan yesterday said new powers are necessary as "some protesters are covering their faces in an obvious

Nearly one in five climate and environmental protests in the UK involve arrests, far above the international average, according to a new report. Researchers at the University of Bristol say 17.2 per cent of UK protests end in arrests compared to an international average of 6.3 per cent.