Resources for trade unionists
Trade unions have a crucial role to play in the fight back to defend our right to protest against genocide and war. Police and prosecutors are attacking the right to a fair trial and trial by jury and judges are imposing vindictive terrorism sentences on activists convicted of criminal damage. After 4 activists were sentenced as terrorists in June for destroying drones used by the Israeli army to commit genocide in Gaza, prosecutors in a second criminal damage case are calling for terrorism sentences to be imposed on activists who were convicted of spray painting a Barclays Bank in Burnley before Palestine Action was proscribed.
Millions of people across the country want to stop arms sales to Israel and oppose the wider drive to war. Juries’ repeated failure to convict activists who have been involved in direct action should send a message to our government to end its own complicity – instead it has used the courts to try and deter people from disrupting the supply chains of war and genocide.
Here are some simple steps union members can take to help push back and defend the space for protest and dissent.
- Use the motion below in your union branch (email us at info@protestisnotterrorism.uk if you would like us to arrange a speaker or to let us know when you have passed it). Please read our quick guide on how to adapt it to work for your circumstances.
- Share this resources page on your union branch WhatsApp or on social media – talk to union and work colleagues about what is happening. Why not arrange to join a protest together as a delegation?
- Sign up to our mailing list for regular updates here
How to use this motion
The wording below is just a guide – please adapt to your local circumstances. You may want to highlight another defence campaign which is local to your area for example. Make sure to check if there is a word limit for motions (especially for national conferences). You may want to tailor the action points to focus on a few of the ideas listed below rather than asking for all of them at once. Please get in touch with us at info@protestisnoterrorism.uk if you want any advice or suggestions.
Model motion
This branch notes
- The recent escalation of attacks by police, prosecutors and judges on freedom of expression and assembly, rights to a fair trial and trial by jury.
- The increasing use of the Terrorism Act and the Serious Crime Act to criminalise non-violent protest, direct action and civil disobedience by the police and courts.
- Nearly 3000 arrests under the Terrorism Act for allegedly expressing support for Palestine Action
- The imposition of significantly harsher sentences by judges including longer prison terms and extreme forms of police surveillance on release in cases with deemed to have a “terrorism connection” where defendants have been convicted only of criminal damage and terrorism charges were never brought before the court.
- Contempt proceedings against Rajiv Menon KC, a leading defence barrister for reminding jurors of their right to acquit according to their conscience.
- The threat to rights to demonstrate and picket from new police powers to ban protest which causes “cumulative disruption” and the prosecution of leaders of the national Palestine protests under the Public Order Act.
This branch believes
- “Terrorism connection” sentences are an abuse of the judicial system and it is wrong to sentence people on an entirely different basis from that on which they were convicted.
- Protecting the independence of defence lawyers and the ability of advocates to present a defendant’s case without fear of punitive consequences are essential safeguards of the right to a fair trial.
- Attacks on the right to protest and civil liberties are an assault on all our freedoms and must be resisted by the trade union movement.
This branch resolves
- To produce an information leaflet for members about the assault on civil liberties in collaboration with the Protest is not Terrorism Open Letter collective, the Filton 25 Defence Campaign and Defend our Juries.
- To issue a public statement condemning “terrorism connection” sentencing and attacks on the right to fair trial and to urge other unions to sign on in solidarity.
- To call on our Executive Committee / General Secretary to work with MPs to initiate a parliamentary campaign against the use of the Terrorism and Serious Crime Acts to suppress protest, non-violent direct action and civil disobedience.
- To send this motion to our regional committee / national conference
- To invite a speaker from the Filton25 Defence Campaign / Defend our Juries / Protest is not Terrorism to address members at our next branch meeting
- To make a donation of £___ to the Filton25 Defence Campaign
- To send a delegation and our banner to a protest outside the court during the Filton25 trials at the Old Bailey / Trials of Defend our Juries activists [or other defence campaign for activists facing prosecution for protesting against war and genocide]
Background resources
- Archive of model motions and other information for trade union activists: https://tinyurl.com/PNTmotion
- Filton25 Defence Campaign
- Defend our Juries
- Amnesty International statement condemning “terrorism connection” sentencing
- Stop the prosecution of Rajiv Menon petition (Netpol)
- Liberty’s campaign against the UK’s dangerously broad definition of terrorism
