WoWFEST Democracy on Trial with Stephen Kapos, Chris Nineham & Basma Ghalayini

On 1 April, Chris Nineham, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, and Ben Jamal, Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, were found guilty under the Public Order Act for organising a peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration in London on 18 January 2025.

Responding to the verdict, Nineham described it as “one more indication of a disturbing authoritarian turn in British society” and called for urgent discussion about how it can be challenged.He is joined by Stephen Kapos, Holocaust survivor and lifelong anti-racist activist who was questioned by police following the 18 January demonstration, and Basma Ghalayini, Manchester-based editor, translator and activist born and raised in the Gaza Strip.Campaigners for civil liberties argue that this case is about far more than a single protest.

They place it within the wider context of increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly in Britain.

Recent legislation — including the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 — has significantly expanded police powers to impose conditions on demonstrations and restrict protests deemed disruptive.

The proposed Crime and Policing Bill could go further still, with measures such as “cumulative impact” raising concerns that protests may be curtailed simply because they occur frequently, rather than because of participants’ conduct.Many warn that these developments pose a serious threat not only to solidarity with Palestine, but to democracy itself.Join Stephen Kapos, Basma Ghalayini and Chris Nineham for an urgent discussion on what these legal shifts mean, whether democratic rights are being eroded, and how they can be defended.