Police did not make any arrests at the Glasgow rally, following an encounter with an individual wearing a "Plasticine Action" T-shirt.
A Satirical Statement on Free Speech: The "Plasticine Action" T-shirt Incident
In Glasgow, Scotland, on August 16, 2025, a pro-Palestinian rally organised by the Stop the War coalition took an unexpected turn. During the event, a man wearing a distinctive "Plasticine Action" T-shirt found himself in a confrontation with police officers in the Saltmarket area.
The T-shirt, featuring the phrase "Plasticine Action: We oppose AI generated animation" and a picture of the stop-motion television character Morph, was a satirical response to the UK government's proscription of the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. The design of the T-shirt was similar to those seen at protests in support of Palestine Action.
However, the police officers seemed to mistake the man's peaceful protest for support of the banned group. The video footage from the incident shows the man being held by an officer while holding a walkie talkie. Despite the confusion, no arrests were made, and no complaints were received following the incident.
This incident highlights the controversial nature of the ban on Palestine Action, as the T-shirt bore no connection to the actual proscribed group but mocked the government's enforcement, exposing perceived overreach and confusion by authorities.
The "Plasticine Action" T-shirt incident became emblematic of the police's rigid enforcement, where even clearly unrelated satire was targeted. Over 700 people have been arrested for supporting Palestine Action since the ban's inception.
The protester arrested for wearing the "Plasticine Action" T-shirt described his arrest as absurd, with onlookers mocking the police's mistake. He later sold the T-shirts to raise funds for Palestinian medical aid as a form of activism and commentary on the ban.
The incident serves as a reminder of the tensions and controversies around the UK's application of the Terrorism Act 2000 to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations. It illustrates issues of free expression, protest rights, and the boundaries of terrorism laws in Scotland and the wider UK.
Contextually, Palestine Action is a British pro-Palestinian direct action network, accused by the UK government of terrorism after activists vandalized RAF Brize Norton in July 2025. The ban has been criticized by civil liberties groups, Amnesty International, and UN experts as an excessive conflation of property damage protests with terrorism, potentially chilling political protest.
[1] BBC News, "Plasticine Action T-shirt: Man arrested at Glasgow Palestine rally," August 17, 2025. [2] The Guardian, "Palestine Action: UK government bans pro-Palestinian group under terrorism laws," July 1, 2025. [4] Amnesty International, "UK: Proscription of Palestine Action a violation of human rights," August 18, 2025.
Read also:
- Weekly happenings in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Southwest region's most popular posts, accompanied by an inquiry:
- Discussion between Putin and Trump in Alaska could potentially overshadow Ukraine's concerns
- Massive 8.8 earthquake hits off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, prompting Japan to issue a tsunami alert.
