The Metropolitan Police arrested a Jewish protester after displaying a satirical placard of the leader of the terrorist organisation, Hezbollah.
The British man, who has requested anonymity for safety reasons, was detained and charged last September over a cartoon depicting the Lebanese terror chief, Hasan Nasrallah, with a pager and the words “beep, beep, beep”.
The placard satirised a targeted Israeli attack known as Operation Grim Beeper, in which explosives planted in pagers and walkie-talkies killed 42 people, primarily Hezbollah terrorists.
Revealed by The Telegraph, the case has raised concerns about police handling of different protest groups, with Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp describing it as an example of “two-tier policing in action”.
Nasrallah survived this attack but was later killed in an air strike.
During police questioning, officers repeatedly asked the man if he thought the image would offend “clearly pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel” activists.
The decision by police to permit pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London since the October 7 massacre has been highly contentious, particularly when marches have passed through areas with significant Jewish populations and near synagogues.
The man reportedly displayed the placard for less than three minutes during the demonstration in Swiss Cottage, north-west London, on September 20, 2024.
He said: “Two police vans and six officers turned up at our house to search for ‘offensive material’, which was quite invasive. It was a horrible experience.
“They put me in the lounge and asked my partner to go with them around the house.
“They weren’t very pleasant to her and even went through her knicker drawer. It was totally ridiculous.”
Philp told The Telegraph: “In recent times, the police have failed to act when confronted with protesters calling for jihad and intifada in London.
“Yet this man was apparently arrested because he might have offended supporters of a banned terrorist organisation.
“This is two-tier policing in action. The law is rightly clear that supporting banned terrorist groups, inciting violence, inciting racial hatred or harassing people is illegal. Beyond that, free speech applies to everyone.”
The Shadow Home Secretary criticised the inconsistency from the police, noting they “sometimes turn a blind eye when applying the law might be difficult, yet over-police at other times”.
He added: “The law should be applied equally to all, robustly and without fear or favour. That is not what happened here.”
A Met Police spokesperson said: “A man was charged following a careful consideration of the evidence. We will reflect on the CPS decision not to proceed with the case, applying any learning to future investigations.
“The officer who interviewed the man clearly misspoke when she described those in the protest as pro-Hezbollah instead of pro-Palestinian.
“We take support for proscribed organisations very seriously. Since October 2023, we have made 28 arrests under the Terrorism Act for offences at protests, including wearing clothing or displaying symbols that indicated support for such groups, including Hezbollah. This is in addition to the hundreds of arrests made for other offences.”