Defend the right to free speech!

The IUAFS condemns the criminal, racist arrests of members of the Revolutionary Communist Group on various fake accusations; of a leading member of the CPGB-ML, Ranjit Brar, on absurd accusations that selling a book explicitly indicting Zionism for racism and anti-Semitism is a “hate-crime”, and more recently for protesting other similar arrests of CPGB-ML supporters; and the outrageous arrest of Tony Greenstein (and Mick Napier in Glasgow) on fantastic lies that they are in some way ‘supporters’ of Hamas. 

These are the tip of an iceberg of police attacks on Palestine solidarity activists and ordinary demonstrators, orchestrated by Tory politicians with Braverman’s ravings as the starting point, whose anti-democratic essence continues to this day. And we can expect no defence from the leaders of the Labour Party, who support the bloody attack on the people of Gaza and now the attacks on Yemen for standing up against the genocide. 

We note that anti-democratic attacks have also taken place on campaigners defending the Donbass people against the West’s support for Nazis in Ukraine: dissenting journalists have even had bank accounts seized for expressing dissenting views against this crime.

We should note that the large-scale murder of unarmed civilians in Gaza, including women, children and even premature babies, and the brazen support for it by ruling-class politicians here, indicates what these politicians are quite prepared to do to ordinary people here if they feel threatened by resistance to their own crimes. The labour movement therefore has an overwhelming class interest in defeating these attacks on democratic rights and defending free speech on this question above all.

We declare our complete solidarity with all these comrades against state repression and call for the dropping of all charges and restrictions on their political activity. Defend the right to free speech and criticism of the West’s genocidal military campaigns!