PROTESTERS gathered outside the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London today to show their support for the organisers of the pro-Palestine demonstrations.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) director Ben Jamal and Stop the War Coalition (STW) vice-chairman Chris Nineham are facing charges of committing public order offences at a protest in central London on January 18. 

The Met Police claim that some protesters tried to breach conditions imposed on the protest by marching out of Whitehall. A total of 77 people were arrested on the march.

Mr Jamal is also facing an offence of allegedly inciting people to fail to comply with protest conditions. 

The pair, who arrived at the court defiantly holding hands in the air, were given unconditional bail until their postponed trial on February 23, with a time estimate of six days. 

Ten other people were charged by police for offences relating to the same demonstration, which also saw MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell voluntarily interviewed by the force.

Owen Greenhall, defending Mr Jamal, told the court that the protest leaders’ trial had been identified as “the lead trial” of all the related cases, with the others pushed back as a result.

The judge said: “Each case will be determined on a case-by-case basis.”

Protesters outside the court waved flags and chanted “free, free, Palestine.”

Speaking on stage outside the court before the hearing, Mr Nineham said the defendants were “very, very confident that in the end, we will get justice.”

He said: “The proscriptions, the arrests, the mounting campaign against the movement are clearly designed to intimidate us and to divide us, and they have, of course, attacked our marches and our protests from the very start of this campaign.

“Once again, we are here to say that we stand united and we stand defiant, and I think it’s important to recognise that the attempts to shut the movement down are backfiring.”

Later, Mr Nineham thanked everyone for attending and said that the far-away trial date was “trying” and “not good for us as a movement to have that hanging over our heads.”

He said that the police have been bringing new evidence into play, adding that it “shows how important they think this is” and that “they are nervous about the case.” 

“This is obviously not about me and Ben, it’s about the whole movement,” he said.

“It's about all the millions of people who have been demonstrating over the last 20 months. It’s an attack on all of us. And we have to continue to resist it.”

He called on the public to join the next national demonstration on Saturday July 19 in London.

In a statement ahead of the hearing, PSC said the charges should never have been brought against Mr Jamal and Mr Nineham and were “a political attack designed to suppress solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

“It is outrageous that Chris and Ben, their families and friends will be left with this threat of criminal charges hanging over them, possibly for many more months,” it added.

Among those speaking outside the hearing was actor Juliet Stevenson, who criticised the government for “clamping down with ever greater repression” on those who “are simply reiterating the demands of the [United Nations].”

“The very UN that we signed up for in 1945 to ensure that the genocide the world had witnessed in World War II would never be repeated,” she said.

“Why are these two men today facing a court case for their entirely calm, responsible and peaceful actions?

“If violence ever took place that day, it was from the police — and I say that as an eyewitness.”

STW convener Lindsey German told the crowd: “The postponement of their trial is an even greater injustice than charging them in the first place and is deliberate. 

“The message we are sending today is we will not stop; we will keep protesting for Palestine and all our civil liberties.

“Every time we have a demonstration, the police put in place an order, which makes it a crime to be in a certain place after a certain time — and they do it deliberately.

“Last week, we had the proscription of Palestine Action, and let’s be clear about this … as long as there are wars across the world, it will give rise to terrorism and violence. 

“If we want to end that, don’t criminalise peaceful protesters. Let’s stop the wars, let’s stop arming Israel and let’s have peace in the Middle East.”

Several counter-protesters also appeared outside the court carrying Israeli flags and holding signs that read “defend protest for all.”