London Police Arrests and Then Releases Iranian-Born Opponent of Hamas

According to local media reports and social media posts, an Iranian-born protester holding a sign reading 'Hamas is a terrorist organization' was arrested on Saturday, March 10, during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London. Videos showing this protester, named Niak Ghorbani, with a placard against Hamas and the police's response to him have been shared on social media. In this context, the Times of Israel reported that videos on social media show five local police officers holding Niak Ghorbani, an exiled Iranian activist, on the ground and handcuffing him. Ghorbani, an IT specialist, told the Daily Mail: 'I think the police are completely wrong. This is a double standard. (Apparently) there is one law for Palestinian protesters and another law for me. This is hypocrisy.' Mr. Ghorbani previously had a similar experience at another demonstration and was recently attacked by a pro-Palestinian group while holding a sign against Hamas. The UK designated Hamas as an Islamist terrorist group in 2021. The Metropolitan Police of London later issued a statement on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) regarding the incident on Saturday, stating: 'A post on social media X suggests that officers arrested a man for an anti-Hamas placard. This is not true. He was arrested after a disturbance occurred, and officers intervened to prevent a breach of the peace. He was arrested for assault. Officers then fully reviewed the scene images, and he was released.' The police emphasized that 'he was not arrested in connection with the placard.' In the previous incident, images show that several protesters attempted to take Mr. Ghorbani's placard from him, after which officers approached Mr. Ghorbani. Under the police statement, several users on social media X added that Mr. Ghorbani was exercising his right to peaceful protests under 'Article 11 of the Human Rights Act' and that his arrest was 'illegal' as there were no assault charges against him and no clear basis to accuse him of attacking anyone. The fact that social media X labeled users' explanations for the police statement in London as a 'note' has drawn the attention of some users. Notes on social media X are typically added for important or highly viewed posts that may contain errors or may present one side of the story, requiring additional important explanations for the audience to gain a correct or fuller picture of an issue. Some users have also shared images claiming that another man had attacked Mr. Ghorbani himself. The Israeli army claims to have killed 'over 13,000 Hamas terrorists' in the Gaza war. Britain is implementing stricter security measures for lawmakers amid tensions over the Israel-Hamas war. The attack on Iranian-British citizen Niak Ghorbani by pro-Palestinian supporters highlights that Iranians suffer from 'terrorist groups.' Netanyahu accused critics of undermining Israel in its war with Hamas, stating that even if an agreement is reached, they will enter Rafah.