London, United Kingdom - September 01, 2025 Five key spokespeople of Defend Our Juries were arrested in dawn raids by counter-terrorism police under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, just hours before a press conference announcing a mass action in Parliament Square on Saturday, 6 September. Tim Crosland, scheduled to speak at the press conference, was among those detained. Law student Paddy Friend was also arrested after hosting a public Zoom call for the group, which police cited as grounds for detention. Witnesses said the authorities specifically targeted hosts of these calls, not participants. The arrests were linked to the Lift the Ban protests and came despite the press conference being widely publicised. Organisers had intended to announce that over 1,000 people had pledged to hold signs reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” with numbers expected to reach 1,500. A Defend Our Juries spokesperson said: “This is scandalous. Locking up our key spokespeople just hours before they were due to hold a press conference announcing more peaceful Lift the Ban protests constitutes an unprecedented assault on free speech in our country… The mass defiance of the unjust ban on Palestine Action is unstoppable.” The press conference has been postponed until 2pm tomorrow. Other spokespeople remain available for interviews, and another public Zoom call is planned tonight in preparation for Saturday’s action.