The British police have arrested seven people over supporting the banned group Palestine Action at an anti-war protest near a Royal Air Force (RAF) air base in eastern England used by US armed forces for aggression on Iran.
The five men and two women arrested at a peace encampment just outside the Lakenheath airbase had gathered with other activists on Sunday to protest the use of the base as a departure point for US aircraft involved in the US-Israeli war of aggression on Iran.
The Lakenheath Alliance for Peace, which organized the protest, said the seven had been arrested wearing clothing with the message saying, “We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action.”
Police said the protesters had been arrested “on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organization.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government banned Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organization last year, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group.
In February, a court ruled that the ban was “disproportionate” and interfered with the right to free speech. But the government has appealed, and the ban remains in effect.
More than 2,700 people have been arrested and hundreds charged over rallies in support of the group, according to protest organizers Defend Our Juries.
Two protesters were also arrested on Saturday at Lakenheath and charged with obstructing public thoroughfares, police said.
US President Donald Trump has railed against Starmer for what he calls insufficient support in the US-Israel war on Iran, straining the countries’ longtime alliance.
This is while the UK has authorized the US to use British military bases to carry out “defensive” operations against Iran and protect the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil passes in peacetime.
During a phone conversation on March 20 with British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the UK for allowing the US to use it military bases against Iran.
“These actions will certainly be regarded as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between our two countries,” he said.
Araghchi also called on UK officials to refrain from any cooperation with the US and the Israeli regime, including providing platforms for “terrorist” TV channels supporting hostile actions against Iranians.
The US and Israel started a fresh round of aerial aggression on Iran on February 28, eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country.
Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the strikes by launching waves of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases and interests in regional countries.
Press TV’s website