An Islamist advocacy group with a track record of supporting Muslim terror suspects is invoking European human rights legislation to contest the U.K. government’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.
“There can be no doubt that the very definition of ‘terrorism’ is inherently political,” CAGE International argues in a 28-page legal submission to the Home Office, demanding the “complete abolition” of terrorism legislation in the U.K.
I can wholly understand people advocating for a Palestinian state, which is a legitimate point of view, but CAGE’s actions beggar belief.
The landmark application to remove Hamas from Britain’s list of banned outfits claims that the ban violates “freedom of expression” and the right to political opinion “without discrimination,” under Articles 10 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
CAGE’s petition accuses the government of weaponizing section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 against pro-Palestine advocacy. Under the legislation, “a person commits an offence if he invites support for” or “expresses an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organization.”
CAGE Presents Case Studies of Criminalization
While Hamas remains a proscribed organization, “there can be no effective debate or discussion about the long-term future of Palestine, as one of the main actors in the region is criminalized,” CAGE—which has a history of opposing counter-terrorism measures—asserts.
The application claims that the “criminalization” of individuals expressing support for banned outfits like Hamas is “entirely a political and subjective judgement” by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service and has “created an extensive chilling effect on Palestinian activism.”
It presents 24 case studies of predominantly Muslim students, professors, teachers, medical doctors, and activists who, according to CAGE, were targeted for expressing solidarity with Palestine through social media posts, academic discourse, student activism, or peaceful protest.
CAGE’s submission follows a legal appeal to the Home Office on behalf of Mousa Abu Marzouk, head of Hamas’s International Relations and Legal Office, demanding Hamas’ “deproscription from the British government’s list of proscribed terrorist groups” under ECHR protections for freedom of speech.
Piggybacking On Hamas Appeal
Riverway Law—a legal firm with a history of defending jihadis linked to Islamist terror militias, including Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, and the Taliban—filed the appeal on April 9 Focus on Western Islamism (FWI) reported. CAGE says it “provided a brief expert report” to Marzouk’s appeal.
Asked why they were filing a petition even though Riverway Law had already launched an appeal, a spokesperson for CAGE International told FWI that it was representing “hundreds of individuals that have been impacted due to the proscriptions overreach” and their case was “equally strong on legal grounds.”
FWI asked CAGE how it would respond to those who describe Hamas as a terrorist organization. The spokesperson replied: “These are politically motivated categorizations. In contrast, as a fact, the Zionist entity is an apartheid settler colony that is engaged in a live-streamed genocide.”
In its submission, the advocacy outfit insisted that the 24 individuals cited in CAGE’s submission were targeted, often after being doxed by two “pro-Zionist organizations” — UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) and the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).
On May 27, CAGE published a 66-page report titled Britain’s Apartheid Apologists, accusing UKLFI and CAA of “utilizing lawfare” and “flood[ing] the judiciary, regulators and employers with disingenuous and dishonest complaints of antisemitism, seeking to suppress and criminalize support for Palestine in the U.K.”
CAGE’s Controversial Links to Islamism
Like Hamas, CAGE has attracted attention in multiple European countries for Islamist links. In July 2023, the French government detained CAGE director Muhammad Rabbani in Paris for almost 24 hours and deported him to London for being part of a “radical Islamist movement.”
France’s interior minister accused Rabbani of “spreading slanderous words” about “supposed ‘Islamophobic persecution’ and mass surveillance by Western governments, including France.”
In October 2023, Poland deported Rabbani at the behest of French authorities, noting that the Schengen information system had updated his details and recommended that he be banned from entering Europe.
Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman said on July 18, 2023, “CAGE’s leaders have excused and legitimized violence by Islamist terrorists.”
Founded in 2003 to campaign on behalf of detainees in the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, CAGE promotes “problematic or extreme views” and “condemns Muslim organisations that
work with the UK government,” a dossier titled Narratives of Division: The Spectrum of Islamist Worldviews in the UK reported.
The Henry Jackson Society’s Centre for the Response to Radicalization and Terrorism report titled Understanding CAGE: A Public Information Dossier, warned that “the group has campaigned on behalf of convicted terrorists and supported prominent jihadist ideologues.”
Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, was proscribed by the UK in 2001. In 2021, its political wing, which runs Gaza, was also proscribed.
Jewish and Muslim Campaign Groups Respond to CAGE
“We will not allow Hamas to be de-proscribed in this country, and we will go to court, if necessary,” a spokesperson for CAA told FWI. “Our legal team is continuing to examine this latest application and we will take any appropriate legal steps to challenge it. We have already provided a submission to the Home Secretary in response to the original application.”
The spokesperson expressed disdain for CAGE’s application, explaining:
CAA continues to expose UK Islamist organizations that support Hamas and, in a recent post on X, has commended the Charity Commission for investigating the NGO Save One Life UK for collaborating with a Hamas-run government ministry to distribute cash in Gaza.
In a second post, the Jewish organization also called for sanctions against Addeel Khan, who serves as a trustee and the Communications Manager at Save One Life UK, and is the Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Culture at University College London.
In comments to FWI, Fiyaz Mughal, founder of Tell MAMA, an organization monitoring hatred against Muslims, said that “CAGE filing a legal complaint to have Hamas removed from proscription demonstrates the banality of this group.”
“Why would any group push for such a thing? Hamas is a terrorist group that held the people of Gaza at gunpoint whilst stoking confrontation with Israel, which has led to the flattening of Gaza by Israel. Hamas has no place in a future Middle East,” said Mughal, who also founded Muslims Against Antisemitism.”
