A significant legal challenge has been mounted against the United Kingdom government’s decision to proscribe Hamas as a terrorist organisation. The British rights group, Cage International, has filed a formal legal application with the Home Secretary to have the Palestinian group removed from the list of banned organisations, arguing the designation stifles political speech and is applied in a discriminatory manner. This follows a separate legal appeal submitted by Hamas itself.
The core of the legal arguments centres on the claim that the 2021 decision by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel to ban the entire Hamas organisation, not just its military wing, was a politically motivated “abuse of power.” Cage International’s submission, filed on 2 June, is described as the first of its kind to focus specifically on the “systemic suppression of political speech, particularly within Britain’s Muslim communities.”
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Arguments for Deproscription
Lawyers for both Hamas and Cage argue that the proscription has a severe “chilling effect on political speech in support of Palestine.” Cage has compiled 24 anonymised case studies detailing how the ban has impacted individuals across various sectors, including education, healthcare, and activism. These cases document instances of:
- Teachers and doctors being suspended over social media posts.
- Students facing disciplinary action.
- Individuals being subjected to house raids, arrests, and visa revocations.
- Children as young as eight being referred to the government’s Prevent anti-radicalisation programme for expressing solidarity with Palestine.
Muhammad Rabbani, the Managing Director of Cage International, stated, “The systematic suppression of pro-Palestinian speech threatens not only those targeted, but also the principles of open debate and political freedom upon which a free society must be based.” He emphasised that the goal is to remedy what they see as “discriminatory application and abuse of power.” The legal challenge to the Hamas ban is presented as a crucial test for civil liberties in the UK.
The application filed on behalf of Hamas argues that under international law, Palestinians have the right to armed resistance against what they describe as an illegal occupation. Daniel Grutters, a barrister involved in the case, explained that the application posits that “the political disagreements with groups trying to end those crimes” should not be the determining factor in how the Home Secretary engages with them. This legal effort to overturn the Hamas ban highlights a clash between national security legislation and principles of international law and free expression.
The applications were submitted to the current Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, who has a 90-day period to respond. If the applications are rejected, the decision can be appealed at the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission. The outcome of this challenge to the Hamas ban could have significant implications for UK counter-terrorism policy and freedom of speech concerning the Gaza genocide.
Image credit: University of Navarra
