A gutsy counter-protester assaulted at yesterday’s Pro-Palestine rally in London for staging his own anti-Hamas demonstration has questioned why he was then threatened with arrest and led away from the area.
Iranian national Niyak Ghorbani held up a placard asking whether or not Hamas was a terrorist organisation as protesters in central London walked past. At one point one of them appeared to thrown a punch, and others hurled abuse.
However, he today shared a clip showing him being escorted away by two uniformed officers, one of whom takes his arm at one point.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Ghorbani said: “While following the police’s advice to collect placards and move away from the area, this individual violently grabbed my hand and threatened that if I returned there, they would arrest me!
“Is arrest a justifiable threat for speaking the truth?!”
Fellow X user Heidi Bachram, a journalist for the Jewish Chronicle, posted: “We are now in the absurdist position in this country where standing with a sign that states the law will get you carted off by the police.
“The authorities should have protected his right to counter-protest.
“Instead they aggressively removed him. Shocking.”
GB News journalist Tom Harwood likewise shared the clip on X, saying: “Hamas is a terrorist organisation.
“If you state this legal fact near an anti-Israel rally you’ll be forcibly removed.
“I understand the need for the police to keep the peace and prevent conflict – but how revealing is this…”
Two people have been charged and will appear in court after a pro-Palestine demonstration in central London.
In total, 12 people were arrested for a string of alleged offences, including inciting racial hatred, suspicion of support for a proscribed organisation in relation to a placard and assaulting emergency workers.
Lucia Whittaker De Abrew, 34, of Arthur Street, Derby has been charged with failing to remove a face covering when required, while 48-year-old Martin Prady, of Birch Road, Martock, Somerset, is accused of obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty.
De Abrew will appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on March 5 and Prady is due to attend Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on March 4.
Five of the arrested have been bailed, while the others face no further action, the Metropolitan Police said.
There is no suggestion that Mr Ghorbani was actually arrested.
Tens of thousands are thought to have been at Saturday’s demonstration, with Scotland Yard saying the “overwhelming majority” were peaceful and acted lawfully.
Protesters met at the south of Park Lane, holding banners calling for a “ceasefire now” and chanting “free, free Palestine”, before congregating outside the Israeli embassy where speeches were made.
Express.co.uk has contacted the Met Police for comment.
