People Before Profit National Secretary Matt Collins said,
"Our Derry representative, Cllr Shaun Harkin, has been charged by the Public Prosecution Service for participating in a protest against Israel's Gaza genocide.
Shaun informed the PSNI he would not be accepting a PPS caution for participating in a Derry City Centre protest on the 17th February 2024 because he did nothing wrong and was prepared to go to court to prove this.
Many Palestine solidarity campaigners, elected representatives, organisations such as Palestine Action, artists like Kneecap , Bob Vylan and others have been targeted for criminalisation because of their willingness to criticise Israeli terrorism and take action against genocide.
These cynical efforts to undermine the credibility of Palestine solidarity by government and the police will not deter people in Derry, in Ireland, in Britain or across the world from speaking out against and taking action against the barbarism Israel and its allies are inflicting on the people of Gaza.
The focus of the British government and those with power should be ending the starvation of Gaza and undoing all complicity with genocide. Instead of assisting Israel's crimes, they should be stopping them.
Shaun and all the others facing charges and attempts to silence them for acting and speaking up against genocide has the full support of People Before Profit.
People Before Profit urge people to reject the attempt to criminalise and silence the Palestine solidarity movement. We urge people to keep speaking up for Gaza and humanity."
People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin said,
"The people of Gaza are being starved to death and pushed into a Rafah concentration camp.
Every action to stop the Gaza genocide is an act for humanity against barbarism.
The PPS and the PSNI should be focused on identifying those in Westminster and Stormont who have incited support for Israel as it carries out war crimes and government bodies providing funding for business organisations to make parts for F-35 murder jets that are being used to kill tens of thousands of Palestinian children.
Israel's supporters have lost all legitimacy. They can no longer defend or hide the barbarism they support, so they are trying to silence the mass global movement opposed to genocide.
It will not work. The political establishment is guilty of complicity with genocide in Gaza and need to held fully to account.
We urge people to stay on the streets and to use every available platform to demand an end to genocide and full sanctions on Israel.
Don't be intimidated. Keep demanding an end to the blockade. Gaza must be flooded with food, medicines and aid."