Man Arrested for Carrying Private Eye Cartoon at Rally
Skip to comments
Jon Farley, a retired teacher, was arrested for carrying an enlarged version of a Private Eye cartoon at a Palestinian solidarity rally. Farley was arrested under the Terrorism Act for suspicion of supporting a proscribed organization.
Last month, after the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action spray-painted two RAF refueling jets, the group was added to the government’s proscription list making them on par with ISIS or al-Qaeda. Any Briton supporting a proscribed group is deemed a criminal.
John was held for six hours before being released. The police later determined John’s placard or presence at the rally was not in support of Palestine Action.
West Yorkshire Police said a 67-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of demonstrating support for a proscribed organisation but that a review found the alleged offence was “not made out”.
A spokesperson said: “We are sorry that the man involved is unhappy with the circumstances of this arrest.
“As this is a new proscribed organisation, West Yorkshire Police is considering any individual or organisational learning from this incident.”
You can listen to John describe his experience on the Private Eye Podcast episode below.
Comments 3
Comments are closed.