The Nakba march and the consequences for one man

Musa joined the march in London on the 16th May, which was held to draw people’s attention to the anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, which happened in 1948,  when an estimated seven hundred and fifty thousand  Palestinians were expelled from their villages and cities,  to enable the creation of what is now called Israel. 

Just after he started walking he saw a piece of cardboard on the ground and picked it up, it said “We will not surrender Victory or martyrdom”. He held it up then continued walking. 

There was a counter demonstration of Zionists so Masa held the card towards them, one of the Zionists,  holding a placard that said “Free London from extremism” called to one of the police, there was a line of police protecting them,  saying that Musa was a terrorist. Someone in a blue vest told him  to move along. Someone who was observing these interactions told Musa that he thought the police were focusing on him.

Suddenly the police were holding him from behind, and were being aggressive, Musa asked them not to be so aggressive and the police calmed down. The police stated they were following up on an allegation, and then proceeded to make a phone call asking someone on the other end “what was the definition of martyrdom.” The policeman was told that Martyrdom  was a “threatening and abusive word that was likely to cause the public alarm and distress.” Musa was then arrested under Sect 5 (1) and (6) of the Public Order Act 1986. He wasn’t handcuffed but was searched for drugs and weapons.

Musa was taken to a police station in Ilford in Essex. While he was at the police station he was searched again, DNA swabbed, photographed and height taken.

Musa was on the march accompanied by his mum, she had no idea where he was taken, initially she couldn’t speak to anyone who knew, it was a long time before she was told. Then she had to make her way to Ilford. 

Whilst in custody he was locked in a cell for what felt like a long time. He kept asking when he would be interviewed so he could be  released, initially he felt they were deliberately being difficult with him. Eventually they were more interactive and treated him well. He was interviewed with a solicitor present, fortunately a solicitor who specialised in the law around protests etc. He gave a no comment interview. One question that was asked was, “Do you have links to the terrorist organisation, Hamas?” He was then released after about 5 hours.

In early July Musa received a letter from the police to say he was being charged with the following offence: 

Display threatening/abusive writing/sign/visible representation likely to cause harassment/alarm/distress.

That was received on the Friday, on the Monday following he received a further letter saying that the CPS were dropping all charges but if further evidence came to light the matter would be reviewed. Which means he could still be liable to charges in the future.

The fact that this incident was treated as an arrestable offence is staggering in its self but not uncommon. The damage this could have done to Musa is incalculable. He would have lost his job as he works in a school, and I would say it could have been life changing for him.

In spite of this experience  Musa is still determined to campaign and march for the rights of the Palestinian people.