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Sally Rooney books face ban as Amnesty intervenes in Palestine Action proscription

Sally Rooney is facing the prospect of withdrawing her books from the UK over her support for Palestine Action. Rooney submitted statements during the UK High Court challenge to the group’s proscription. It explained the legal risks to her publisher – Faber & Faber. She also expressed her fear that her books might be withdrawn from sale if the publisher cannot pay her royalties. Additionally, it means that her publishers may not be able to print any new books in Britain.

In August, Rooney won a Sky Arts award for her book Intermezzo. However, lawyers warned her against travelling to the UK to receive the award after she said the proceeds from her books would support Palestine Action.

In a statement read at the ceremony, she said:

I’m advised that I can no longer safely enter the UK without potentially facing arrest.

Now, in her witness statements to the High Court, Rooney said that the actions of Palestine Action in the UK were:

from a long and proud tradition of civil disobedience – the deliberate breaking of laws as an act of protest

I myself have publicly advocated the use of direct action, including property sabotage, in the cause of climate justice. It stands to reason that I should support the same range of tactics in the effort to prevent genocide.

She added:

The disappearance of my work from bookshops would mark a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression.

The proscription of Palestine Action as a “terrorist group” came into effect on July 5 2025. Since then, police have arrested more than 2,200 people under terrorism legislation. Of these, authorities have charged 254 people with terrorism offences, purely for participating in peaceful protests.

Challenging the government’s decision

However, both Amnesty International UK and Liberty have now intervened in the High Court judicial review case, which challenges the government’s decision to proscribe the group.

The groups argue that the ban constitutes a disproportionate use of counter-terrorism powers and an overreach that violates human rights. Both Amnesty and Liberty will assert that:

the proscription of Palestine Action represents a substantial departure from established responses to protest movements which use direct action tactics and breaches Articles 10 & 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights – which protect freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association.

In its application to the court, Liberty criticised the UK’s definition of terrorism as “extremely broad” and warned that the proscription of Palestine Action could pave the way for the wider use of counter terror laws against protestors, undermining people’s right to freedom of expression and freedom of association.

Liberty said the decision to proscribe Palestine Action was disproportionate because:

  1. Property damage is not comparable in nature with the sort of activities counter-terror legislation is aimed at – which generally requires intentional violence against people.
  2. The aims of the organisation should be considered, with distinction drawn between those with aims which are abhorrent to a human rights respecting society, and those whose aims are for example to uphold international law.
  3. Criminalising all people who express support for a group is a substantial interference with freedom of expression – with terror offences carrying severe penalties.

Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Director of Campaigns and Communications, said:

The proscription of Palestine Action was an enormous overreach of the UK’s terrorism powers and should never have happened.

The UK has a deeply flawed and overly broad definition of terrorism which human rights monitors including Amnesty International have been warning about for years. Palestine Action’s proscription only serves to highlight that those warnings were justified.

The consequences of the proscription decision have been chilling. Over the past four months, organisations have been silenced and thousands of people have been arrested for sitting peacefully with placards saying they support Palestine Action.

The Government must wake up and realise that the world is watching, and that people are extremely disturbed by the erosion of protest rights in the UK.

Featured image via HG

By HG

This post was originally published on Canary.