British State Targets the Elderly: 84-Year-Old Priest Arrested for Defending Palestine
While the UK government continues to arm the Zionist regime, London police have detained an 84-year-old retired priest under anti-terror laws for daring to oppose the Gaza genocide.
London, PUREWILAYAH.COM - London’s Metropolitan Police have arrested an 84-year-old retired Anglican priest and former nun, Sue Parfitt, during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The arrest exposes the extreme lengths to which the British establishment will go to silence domestic opposition to the Israeli regime’s ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Parfitt, hailing from Henbury, was detained on Sunday alongside approximately a dozen other activists. Their primary offence was expressing support for Palestine Action, a direct-action network known for disrupting and shutting down UK-based factories belonging to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer.
The British government proscribed Palestine Action under draconian anti-terrorism legislation last year—a move widely condemned as an attempt to shield Israeli arms suppliers from public accountability. The weekend rally marked the one-year anniversary of the ban, with demonstrators marching behind a banner that simply read:
“Saving Lives is Not Terrorism.”
Addressing the crowd through a megaphone while wearing her clerical collar and a crucifix, Parfitt delivered a defiant message moments before her arrest.
“So, what can I do at my age and my frailty? Very little,” she told the protesters. “I do what I can to support the Palestinians. One of the best things that I can do is to support the organisation known as Palestine Action, because they have been brave enough... to smash up the weapons that are producing the genocide. So, I ask you too, to support Palestine Action.”
Immediately following her speech, police officers descended on the elderly priest. Upon searching her bag, authorities found only a Bible and a newspaper.
Protest organisers reported that the arrests were carried out under Section 12 of the UK’s Terrorism Act, marking a severe escalation in the state’s crackdown. The charge carries a potential 14-year prison sentence.
Activists and human rights defenders have pointed out the glaring hypocrisy of the British legal system. While a frail 84-year-old woman faces severe terrorism charges for speaking out against mass murder, Elbit Systems continues to freely manufacture drones and munitions on British soil—weapons directly used to slaughter defenceless civilians in Gaza.
As a spokesperson for the activists noted, the ongoing attempts by the British state to criminalise peaceful opposition to genocide will only backfire and draw more attention to the UK’s complicity in Israeli war crimes. (PW)
Reference: PressTv