Early on Thursday morning, British counterterrorism police raided Asa Winstanley’s home in North London under the pretext that they were investigating possible offenses under the 2006 Terrorism Act. Winstanley is an associate editor at the Electronic Intifada, one of the foremost independent platforms for voices in solidarity with the cause of Palestinian liberation. He was accused of “encouraging terrorism” because of social media posts and, although he was not arrested, several of his devices were seized.

This latest incident comes within a political environment in which pro-Palestinian voices are consistently maligned and demonised. It follows a concerning trend that has seen several journalists, such as Richard Medhurst, and activists, such as Mick Napier and Tony Greenstein, being detained under the Terrorism Act for speaking out against Israel’s crimes on the Palestinian people.

Reacting to these developments, Ismail Patel, Chair of Friends of Al-Aqsa, said, “We are deeply concerned by the raid on Asa Winstanley’s home in North London by counterterrorism police on Thursday. It is the latest example of the state apparatus being used to silence support for the Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing genocide, which is being conducted with the full complicity of the UK. This attack on the fundamental right to freedom of expression further exposes the double standards of the British state, which has constantly sought to undermine the Palestine solidarity movement since last October.”