Counter-terror cops detained George Galloway and his wife Gayatri at Gatwick Airport on Saturday 27 September, in the latest crackdown on anti-genocide speech.

George and Gayatri Galloway: held under counter-terror laws

George Galloway has been a consistent and fierce critic of the Zionist regime in Israel. In 2014, he was attacked by a far-right Zionist in London. Over the years, his position on Israel has made him a target of mainstream politicians and the Zionist lobby. But now, it seems that Galloway has been caught up in the current state crackdown on pro-Palestinian voices.

The Workers Party of which he founded put out a statement at 4:30pm on 27 September. It said:

At 11am we were informed by police officers in Gatwick that our party leader George Galloway and his wife have been detained at the airport…

The police agreed that they would pass a message to our comrades from us and pass back a reply from them.

Despite repeated attempts to gather further information, and despite repeated calls to the police, we have no further information on their wellbeing, nor on the observation of their Rights.

There is no information on charges or alleged offences. Therefore we may conclude this is politically motivated intimidation.

We call on all supporters and friends to amplify this message and demand the IMMEDIATE RELEASE of our leaders.

Skwawkbox noted that:

Galloway and his wife were detained by police at Gatwick airport incommunicado – despite a police promise to party workers to pass a message to him and obtain a wellbeing update – almost certainly under Keir Starmer’s abuse of anti-terror laws to arrest, harass and seize the devices of anti-genocide journalists and activists.

It is unclear why Galloway and his wife were detailed, although they were on their way back from Moscow.

The Met Police said:

We can confirm that on Saturday, counter-terrorism officers at Gatwick airport stopped a man in his 70s and a woman in her 40s under schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.

Neither of them were arrested and they were allowed on their way.

State oppression

George Galloway joins a growing list of pro-Palestine, anti-Zionist voices that the state has targeted.

As the Canarypreviously reported, on 17 May 2023 six cops also detained Grayzone journalist Kit Klarenberg – again under counter-terror laws, but this time the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act (2019). This seemingly was due to Klarenberg’s work at the Grayzone, which is an anti-imperialist outlet. Also in 2023, cops similarly detained Craig Murray.

Journalists Richard Medhurst and Sarah Wilkinson have also been targeted – as has Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada. And all this is against the backdrop of the state’s repression of Palestine Action – and therefore, be default, Defend Our Juries.

As Skwawkbox said:

The Starmer regime’s ever-escalating war on free speech, protest rights and resistance to Israeli genocide and apartheid has kicked up another notch, with the forcible detention of a rival party leader. If there was any room for doubt that fascism is here in the UK, it just disappeared.

George Galloway and Gayatri’s detention will not be the last time the state targets anti-Zionist voices – and it may not be the last time it targets the Galloways, either.

Featured image via the Canary

Additional reporting via Skwawkbox

By Steve Topple

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