In a separate development with geopolitical implications, the UK’s National Crime Agency arrested an Indian national during a raid on a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker. The shadowy network of aging vessels has been used to circumvent Western sanctions on Russian oil exports since the invasion of Ukraine. The NCA did not specify the charges.
Meanwhile, a five-judge panel of England and Wales’ Court of Appeal — including the two most senior judges in the jurisdiction — ruled that the government’s ban on Palestine Action was lawful. The decision overturns a February high court ruling that had found the proscription of the direct-action group under the Terrorism Act to be wrong. It marks the first time a group has been banned under the act in this manner, setting a potentially far-reaching precedent for protest movements.
