(Adnkronos) – Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has approved Scotland Yard’s request to ban the “particularly controversial” al-Quds march, which was scheduled for Sunday in central London, to “prevent serious public disorder.” According to British police, “extreme tensions” could have occurred during the demonstration. The event is organized annually by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which, as explained by Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Ade Adelekan, “supports the Tehran regime.” It is the first time in 14 years that a demonstration has been banned in Great Britain, but according to London police, this time the risks of public disorder were “so serious” that it was right to block it. The ban also applies to any counter-protest demonstrations, police explained. A “static demonstration” by the Islamic Human Rights Commission has instead been authorized, but will be “strictly controlled,” British media explain.
Previously, the Islamic Human Rights Commission stated on X that the march had been scheduled as usual towards the end of Ramadan in support of the liberation of Palestine. Despite the ban, London police maintained that they would face a “difficult and potentially violent weekend.” The note released by the police explains that “we have taken into account the likely impact on protests of the unstable situation in the Middle East, with the Iranian regime attacking British allies and military bases abroad.” Furthermore, the note continues, “we must also consider that security services have been publicly clear about the threats we are facing on British soil from the Iranian regime.” Last week, British police arrested four men suspected of helping Iranian intelligence services monitor people and places linked to London’s Jewish community.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission condemned the decision to ban the march, but according to the Metropolitan Police, this year the event would have presented “unique risks and challenges.” Risks “so serious that imposing conditions on the protest will not be sufficient,” law enforcement said. “We must consider the likely high number of protesters and counter-protesters who will join and the strong tensions between the different factions,” a note reads. “The threshold for banning a protest is high, and we do not take this decision lightly. It is the first time we have used this power since 2012,” explained Ade Adelekan.
Regarding the situation in Iran, the Islamic Human Rights Commission stated that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed for “siding with the right side of history.” In recent days, a note had stated that “the death of Ayatollah Khamenei will be mourned by freedom-loving people around the world.”
