Two women in Britain have been charged under the Terrorism Act after allegedly displaying images of Hamas paraglider terrorists at a pro-Palestine protest in London last month.
The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on Friday that two women, Heba Alhayey, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, have been charged under section 13 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2000, which prohibits the displaying of images “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion” that they are a “member or supporter of a proscribed organisation.”
The two women are accused of displaying images of paragliders at a pro-Palestine demonstration on October 14th in London. During the October 7th terror attacks on Israel by Hamas — which is a banned proscribed terror group in Britain — attackers used paragliders to break into Israel and kill over 1,200 people.
The CPS said that the charges against Alhayey and Ankunda were summary-only offences, meaning that they would face a maximum prison sentence of six months.
Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Following a review of evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police, we have authorised charges against two women who took part in a demonstration in central London last month.
“Heba Alhayey, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, have been charged with single counts of carrying or displaying an article, namely an image displaying a paraglider, to arouse reasonable suspicion that they are supporters of a proscribed organisation, namely Hamas, on Saturday, 14 October 2023.
“Criminal proceedings against the two women are active and they each have the right to a fair trial.
“The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a criminal court to consider.”
The two women have been released on bail and will appear before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 10th.
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