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The decision by the High Court follows a legal challenge initiated by the co-founder of a pro-Palestinian organization against the government’s prohibition. Nevertheless, the ban will continue to stay in effect, allowing the government an opportunity to contest the judgment.

The UK High Court declared on Friday that the government’s choice to classify the Palestine Action campaign group as a terrorist organization was illegal.

The court’s judges stated that the ban had violated the right to free expression, noting that the regulation would stay in effect to allow the government an opportunity to appeal.

“The court concluded that banning Palestine Action was excessive. Only a minimal portion of the group’s activities constituted terrorist acts,” the decision stated.

The pro-Palestinian advocacy organization was classified as a terrorist group in July.

The listing makes it a crime to be a member of the group or to show support for it, with penalties reaching up to 14 years in prison. It also places the group in the same category as Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda, and the “Islamic State.”

Since the listing, Over 2,000 individuals have been taken into custodyfor displaying signs that read “I support Palestine Action.”

The authorities sought to prohibit the group following activists entering a Royal Air Force facility and damaging two aircraft as a demonstration against the British armed forces’ backing of Israel during its conflict in Gaza.

Attorneys for Huda Ammori, a co-founder of the group, contended during a previous court session that the government’s prohibition constituted an oppressive limitation on the freedom to demonstrate.

Edited by: Sean Sinico

Author: Natalie Muller (with AP, Reuters, AFP)