London’s Metropolitan police announced Monday that another 47 people have been charged with supporting Palestine Action, bringing the number of activists accused of backing the banned terrorist group to 114.
The accused, who range in age from 18 to 81 years old, will appear in court on October 27 and 28 and face a possible maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment if found guilty, the Met said in a statement.
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action as a terror group in July after two planes were vandalized at a Royal Air Force base, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage.
More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the group was outlawed under the Terrorism Act 2000. A total of 114 of those detained have been charged.
The 47 charged most recently were all arrested at a London demonstration on July 19 this year, according to the BBC.
Rights groups have condemned the ban as legal overreach and a threat to free speech, however the British government has defended the move by arguing the ban targets a specific organization with a history of criminal activity.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori has launched a court bid to overturn the UK government’s ban and a hearing is set for this November in the High Court.
Interior Minister Yvette Cooper has said the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage,” insisting that “many people may not yet know the reality of this organization.” She claimed the group is “not non-violent.”
The group has said its activists were responding to Britain’s indirect military support for Israel during the war in Gaza, which began when Hamas-led terrorists rampaged through southern Israel, murdering 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
In August, acclaimed screenwriter Paul Laverty was arrested on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action during a protest in Edinburgh, Scottish police said.
Earlier that month, Irish author Sally Rooney vowed to give fees generated by two BBC adaptations of her books to Palestine Action.