Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg found herself in handcuffs Tuesday morning as police swooped in on a heated protest in the heart of London. The 22-year-old activist grabbed headlines once again, this time rallying alongside demonstrators from Prisoners for Palestine outside Aspen Insurance’s City office—an address allegedly linked to controversial Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems. Holding a bold placard with the words “I support the Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide,” Thunberg made her stance clear in video footage shared online.
The protest rapidly escalated, with two participants splashing the building’s facade with vivid red paint and wielding hammers, drawing the swift response of City of London Police. Officers detained a man and a woman, whose acts were described as criminal damage. The pair reportedly glued themselves in place, forcing specialist teams to peel them away before escorting them into custody.
Not long after, Thunberg herself was apprehended under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Her crime? Displaying a sign supporting Palestine Action—the group now officially proscribed under anti-terror legislation. Police stated, “A 22-year-old woman also attended the scene. She has been arrested for displaying an item in support of a banned organization.”
The protests come amid a high-stakes hunger strike by seven Palestine Action activists, jailed since the start of November. The situation is growing critical: Kamran Ahmed, aged 28 and detained at Pentonville, and Amu Gib, 30, held at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, have both required hospitalisation after refusing food. Gib, now in a wheelchair and nearing the 52nd day without eating, was most recently taken to hospital Saturday—a dramatic sign of deteriorating conditions.
Emergency physician Dr James Smith last week warned the press that some of the hunger strikers are in “life-threatening” condition and urgent specialist intervention is needed. All seven prisoners face serious criminal charges linked to alleged break-ins or property damage targeting Palestine Action’s adversaries before the organization’s legal ban.
A legal firefight is brewing as well. Lawyers for the hunger strikers fired off a pre-action letter Monday, demanding swift attention from Justice Secretary David Lammy. The message, described by the Press Association as urgent, calls for an immediate meeting to address the activists’ plummeting health and looming risk of death. Their legal team insists time is running out, writing, “Our clients’ health continues to deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.”
