DOZENS of protesters were arrested for holding signs outside the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) today as six Palestine activists neared their fourth week on hunger strike while held in jail for months without trial.

Retired teachers and nurses were among some 50 Defend Our Juries (DOJ) supporters who sat outside the London offices holding cardboard signs saying: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

“In an illustration of the ongoing absurdity of the ban, the police have today arrested a mannequin who was holding an offending sign,” said a spokesman for the campaign group.

The silent protest was part of a wave of actions this month in 20 towns and cities across Britain opposing the ban of Palestine Action under terror laws ahead of a judicial review starting next Tuesday.

DOJ said in a statement: “People who take action with The Lift The Ban campaign are acting to restore our fundamental right to protest and to end the UK government’s complicity in genocide.

“They are all principled and courageous. None of them pose a threat to the public.”

The Ministry of Justice was chosen due to the Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer’s role as an acting guarantor that prosecutions taken up by the Crown Prosecution Service serve the interest of justice and the interest of the public, said DOJ.

Among the protesters was 55-year-old former primary school teacher Camilla Clayton-Jones, of Alton, Hampshire.

The self-described “middle-class woman from middle England” said that she was risking her third arrest and charge under the Terrorism Act “because I have been an eyewitness to the most shocking and appalling genocide.

“I can’t carry on with my lovely, normal life while such evil is being perpetuated.”

Retired teacher Rachel Stubley, 63, added: “I am heartbroken at what is happening to our country under a Labour government. 

“We have continued to actively support Israel’s genocide and crimes against the Palestinian people, selling arms and providing intelligence to Israel as they slaughter children, journalists, medics, emergency workers and other civilians and destroy infrastructure in Gaza.”

Retired emergency nurse Leigh Evans said: “Protest and direct action are prerequisites for democracy in the face of fascism.”

DOJ’s wave of action continues in London, Derry and Belfast on Saturday, with more protests for the rest of the month.