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Three women who displayed images supporting Hamas at a pro-Palestine demonstration have been found guilty of a terrorism offence following a Met investigation
Heba Alhayek, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, of south London, displayed paraglider imagery on the backs of their shirts during a protest in central London on 14 October 2023. Noimutu Taiwo, 27, also of south London, stuck a paraglider picture to a placard she was carrying at the protest.
Paragliders were used by Hamas members in launching their terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October 2023.
Alhayek, Ankunda and Taiwo were each found guilty of displaying an article in such a way or such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that they were either members or supporters of a Proscribed Organisation, namely Hamas (contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000) following a two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
They were each sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge. Detective Chief Superintendent Hayley Sewart, of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The images that circulated on social media of these women caused widespread outrage. “This was a unique case examined in detail by a senior judge, and the case built by officers has led to guilty verdicts. “In the context of the pro-Palestine protests we have seen in London, we have always been clear that showing support for a terror group is a criminal offence, and anyone who does this faces arrest and prosecution. “The right to protest is always coupled with a responsibility for those protesting to act lawfully.
The Met will pursue anyone suspected of committing criminal offences at protests.” Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command supporting Op Brocks – the response to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza and its impact in London – launched an investigation after officers became aware of images on social media of the three women at the 14 October 2023 protest.
Police made a public appeal to trace the women on 27 October 2023. Alhayek and Ankunda subsequently attended a police station on 30 November 2023, and were arrested. They were charged on 3 November 2023. Taiwo was arrested on 8 November 2023, and charged the following day. The Met still has several active investigations and outstanding suspects linked to alleged offences committed at protests held in central London in recent months.
