SIX CHARGED WITH TERRORISM – Over support for Palestine Action
Six people have been charged with terrorism offences in connection with supporting banned group Palestine Action.
The offences relate to allegedly arranging public demonstrations in London, Manchester and Cardiff, as well as managing 13 Zoom meetings, between July and August in support of the proscribed group, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Timothy Crosland, 55, from Southwark, south-east London, Patrick Friend, 26, of Grange in Edinburgh, Gwen Harrison, 48, from Kendal, Cumbria, David Nixon, 39, from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, Dawn Manners, 56, from Hackney, east London, and Melanie Griffith, 62, from Southwark, south-east London, are due to appear at Westminster magistrates’ court on Thursday.
It comes ahead of a planned protest on Saturday where organisers have said they are expecting more than 1,000 people to demonstrate in support of Palestine Action in London’s Parliament Square.
Crosland is charged with three counts of addressing a meeting with the purpose being to encourage support for a proscribed organisation and three counts of assisting in arranging a meeting knowing the purpose was to support a proscribed organisation.
Det Ch Supt Helen Flanagan, head of operations for the Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The six charges today, as well as the man charged in Scotland, have come about as a result of a proactive investigation into suspected activity linked to Palestine Action.
