Arrested for a Zoom Call? UK Police Detain Man for Participating in Online Palestine Action Meeting

A British man has been arrested under terrorism legislation for allegedly hosting a Zoom call connected to Palestine Action, the group recently designated a terrorist organisation by the UK Home Office. The arrest, which took place on 2 September 2025, was recorded on video and circulated online, showing police officers informing 25-year-old Paddy Friend that participating in an online meeting could constitute 'inviting support for a proscribed group.'

Friend is one of five members of the Defend Our Juries campaign who were detained in coordinated dawn raids across England. The arrests were carried out by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, working with regional units, and form part of Operation Lynwood, an ongoing crackdown on activism associated with Palestine Action.

According to court filings, the alleged offence was not participation in a physical protest or attempt to damage property, but hosting an online meeting to discuss political opposition to the government's decision to ban Palestine Action. The group was proscribed in August under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The law states that it is a criminal offence to invite support for a proscribed group, even if that support is not material. Counter-terror police are now applying this law to digital conversations held on mainstream platforms such as Zoom.

The case has sparked outcry from civil liberties groups, who say it represents a troubling shift in how political speech is policed in Britain. Many described the arrests as an unprecedented assaulton democratic rights, noting that those charged did not carry out any action, but simply discussed legal protest.

Amnesty International UK has previously warned that designating activist groups as terrorist organisations risks criminalising dissent and eroding fundamental rights to assembly and speech, particularly when online activity falls under surveillance.

Palestine Action, known for direct action targeting arms factories linked to Israeli military exports, was officially proscribed by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who said the group's actions amounted to 'terrorist activity'. Since the designation, more than 500 people have been arrested at associated demonstrations.

The Friend arrest is the first major legal test of whether speech in an online forum can be prosecuted as terrorism-related activity in the UK.

Legal experts say this could mark a turning point in the policing of political organising. If the prosecution succeeds, it could set a precedent that attending or hosting a Zoom call may be treated as a criminal act under counter-terror laws, even when no violent or illegal action occurs.

As the case proceeds, courts will contend with a fundamental question in modern digital democracy: Where is the line between political expression and terrorism — and has it now moved onto Zoom?