British civil society groups have condemned the convictions of two prominent pro-Palestine activists as evidence of an authoritarian shift in the UK’s approach to dissent.
On Friday, representatives from eight organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Article 19 issued a joint letter criticising the guilty verdicts against Ben Jamal and Chris Nineham.
The pair were convicted earlier this month for breaching police conditions during a January 2025 protest in London, where they led a group to lay flowers at the BBC’s headquarters in solidarity with Palestinians killed in Gaza.
Jamal, 62, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and Nineham, 63, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, were found guilty of failing to comply with dispersal orders, with Jamal additionally convicted of two counts of inciting others to breach the restrictions.
Both received 18- and 12-month conditional discharges respectively and were ordered to pay £7,500 each in prosecution costs, equivalent to approximately $10,000.
The groups warned the ruling creates a “broader chilling effect” on the right to protest and risks undermining hard-won democratic freedoms.
They stated the convictions reflect how far the UK has moved toward treating peaceful dissent as a threat, despite video evidence showing police initially allowing the group to pass before intervening.
The case comes amid increased scrutiny of the UK’s handling of pro-Palestine activism, including the 2024 ban on direct action group Palestine Action and Amnesty’s annual report alleging misuse of counterterror laws to restrict lawful demonstrations.
The letter concluded that recasting historic forms of protest as inherently dangerous risks eroding the very rights those struggles helped secure.
What specific actions led to the convictions?
Jamal and Nineham were convicted for leading a group to the BBC’s headquarters in London on 18 January 2025 to lay flowers commemorating Palestinians killed in Gaza, despite police declaring the site off-limits for protesters.
Are Jamal and Nineham planning to challenge the verdict?
Yes, both men have confirmed they are appealing their convictions and sentences.