- Niyak Ghorbani was wrestled to the ground by four Met officers and handcuffed
- The 38-year-old was counter-protesting the pro-Palestine march in London
Police were accused of double standards yesterday after arresting a man in London who called Hamas terrorists – but refusing to intervene when nearby protesters celebrated Houthi terror attacks in the Red Sea.
As thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through the capital, a counter-protester carrying a ‘Hamas is Terrorist’ banner was wrestled to the ground by four Met officers and handcuffed.
Shocking footage showed one of the arresting officers ripping the sign out of the Iranian man’s hands and screwing it up.
As he was held down, Niyak Ghorbani, 38, shouted: ‘Shame on you… I wrote down Hamas is a terrorist organisation… but they arrested me.’
Last night, IT professional Mr Ghorbani, an exiled Iranian, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I think the police are totally wrong. It is a total double standard. It is one rule for the Palestinian protesters and another for me. It is hypocrisy.’
Onlookers criticised the heavy-handed treatment of Mr Ghorbani compared to the softly-softly approach towards those glorifying Houthi terror attacks on British ships.
A man with a megaphone repeatedly screamed, ‘Yemen, Yemen, do us proud’ while a crowd chanted in response, ‘Turn another ship around.’
Niyak Ghorbani (centre) was wrestled to the ground by four Met officers and handcuffed for carrying a ‘Hamas is Terrorist’ banner during a counter-protest to the pro-Palestine march in London
Mr Ghorbani was seen carrying the sign during the latest national protest against Israel’s bombing of Gaza
Onlookers criticised the heavy-handed treatment of Mr Ghorbani compared to the softly-softly approach towards those glorifying Houthi terror attacks on British ships
Last week three sailors were killed on their ship by missiles launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen. The Houthis say the attacks are in support of the Palestinians.
Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith last night reacted to Mr Ghorbani’s treatment by saying: ‘I will be demanding a full inquiry with a public apology from the police. This Iranian man has done nothing wrong at all.
‘For a man to be arrested and bundled to the floor by officers, who do not seem to know the difference between a peaceful organisation and a terrorist one, is astonishing.’
Jewish Tory MP Andrew Percy said: ‘For months the police have ignored support for actual terrorist groups on our streets yet they find time to arrest someone pointing out a simple statement of fact.’
Despite witnessing the chanting, two Metropolitan Police officers declined to take action when challenged by an onlooker, who asked: ‘Guys, you know what that reference is, the Yemen reference… the Houthis, proscribed terror organisation?’
One of the officers shook his head while the other said: ‘I am listening to my earpiece, sorry.’
Mr Ghorbani, meanwhile, was later de-arrested and released shortly after.
Last night a Met spokesman said it was ‘not accurate’ that the man was arrested for having an anti-Hamas placard.
He said: ‘He was arrested after an altercation was ongoing and officers intervened to prevent a breach of the peace. He was arrested for assault. Officers then fully reviewed footage provided of the incident, and he was later de-arrested. The arrest was not made in relation to the placard.’
The incidents took place during the latest national protest against Israel’s bombing of Gaza – and follow claims that London has become a ‘no-go zone for Jews’ during weekend protests.
Shocking footage showed Met Police officers handcuffing Mr Ghorbani on the floor, one of them is seen ripping the sign out of the Iranian man’s hands and screwing it up
For the first time since the conflict began, an official counter-demonstration was staged in solidarity with both Israel and British Jews who have felt intimidated by the weekly protests.
Organisers said they wanted to reclaim London as ‘a bastion of democracy, diversity, and multiculturalism’.
Police said four other arrests were made at yesterday’s march.
The UK Government officially designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation in 2021.
Membership and expressing support for Hamas is an illegal act in the UK, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
