Greta Thunberg has been arrested in London after taking part in a protest holding a sign expressing support for Palestine Action-affiliated hunger strikers.
The Swedish activist arrived after a protest had begun outside the offices of an insurance company in London and she sat down with a sign saying “I support the Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide.”
Two other activists are said to have earlier used repurposed fire extinguishers to cover the front of the building used by Aspen Insurance with red paint before locking themselves to it.
The campaign group Prisoners for Palestinesaid Aspen, a global speciality insurer and reinsurer, was targeted because it provided services to Elbit Systems UK, a subsidiary of an Israeli weapons maker.
Prisoners for Palestine said the action was also carried out in solidarity with a number of prisoners who have been on hunger strike while awaiting trial for alleged offences relating to Palestine Action before the group was banned.
A total of eight prisoners had been on hunger strike. The first two prisoners to join the protest are now on their 52nd day and at a critical stage for their health. Three of the eight have stopped because of severe risk.
A City of London police spokesperson said hammers and red paint were used to damage a building on Fenchurch Street at 7am on Tuesday.
“A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. They glued themselves nearby and specialist officers are working to release them and bring them into police custody,” the spokesperson said.
“A little while later, a 22-year-old woman also attended the scene. She has been arrested for displaying an item (in this case a placard) in support of a proscribed organisation (in this case Palestine Action) contrary to section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.”
While thousands of people have been arrested over the past year at protests for holding placards saying “I support Palestine Action”, campaigners questioned why the wording of Thunberg’s sign had led to her being arrested under counter-terrorism legislation.
Families and supporters of hunger strikers have pleaded with David Lammy to meet them in an attempt to end the impasse. On Monday as the protest reached a dangerous stage, lawyers for the hunger strikers sent a legal letter claiming that by refusing a meeting the justice secretary had failed to comply with the Ministry of Justice’s policy on the handling of hunger strikes.
The demands of the hunger strikers include the granting of immediate bail, ending the ban on Palestine Action and stopping restrictions on their communications.
Thunberg said in a statement: “It is up to the state to intervene and put an end to this by meeting these reasonable demands that pave the way for the freedom of all those who choose to use their rights trying to stop a genocide, something the British state has failed to do themselves.”
Aspen was targeted after it emerged that two insurance firms that were repeatedly targeted by Palestine Action before the group was banned had stopped insuring UK subsidiaries of Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems.
Allianz and Aviva ended insurance contracts with Elbit Systems UK and UAV Engines respectively. They have all been approached for comment.
On Saturday after Ireland’s Gaelic Athletic Association came under pressure to end its sponsorship by Allianz, the insurance company told RTÉ that it “has no relationship with Elbit Systems and does not engage in any investment or underwriting activity connected to the Middle East”.
