Police have dropped an investigation into a protester who held a “Hamas are terrorists” banner at pro-Palestine demonstrations in London.
Niyak Ghorbani, an Iranian dissident, was accused of making racially aggravated threats to kill a Palestine supporter at a protest last November.
A police investigation was launched after a pro-Palestinian protester alleged that Ghorbani said: “I’ll kill you, you Arab b*****d” outside Queen Mary University of London in Mile End.
Ghorbani was campaigning against the university’s decision to host Francesca Albanese, a UN special rapporteur who had previously compared Israeli actions in Gaza with the Holocaust.
Ghorbani was arrested for ‘racism’ after eating a banana during a pro-Palestine protest last May
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She had also claimed that American opinion on the Israel-Palestine conflict was “subjugated by the Jewish lobby”.
On the day of Hamas’s attacks against Israel, she tweeted: “Today’s violence must be put in context.”
A formal protest against her appearance was cancelled due to security concerns.
Several demonstrators – including Ghorbani – continued nonetheless, where they were met by pro-Palestinian counter-protesters.
Ghorbani has since been told that the investigation into his behaviour has been dropped, according to the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).
Stephen Silverman, director of investigations and enforcement for the CAA, said: “We welcome the decision to drop the ludicrous investigation against Niyak Ghorbani, who should never have been subjected to this ordeal in the first place.
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Niyak Ghorbani, an Iranian dissident, had been accused of making racially aggravated threats to kill a Palestine supporter
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“It is appalling that those who speak out against terrorism are targeted while actual extremists go unchallenged.”
The CAA provided legal assistance to Ghorbani – though this is not first legal victory following his protests.
In April last year, a judge told the Metropolitan Police that officers could not stop him from attending pro-Palestinian protests with his “Hamas are terrorists” sign.
The 38-year-old has also been manhandled and attacked by some protesters during demonstrations – in May last year, he was arrested for “racism” after eating a banana during a pro-Palestine protest.
Police imposed strict bail conditions, banning him from attending Palestine-related protests or entering the borough of Camden or City of Westminster entirely.
A judge later threw out these conditions, ruling they were neither proportionate nor necessary.
A Met Police spokesman said: “No further action will be taken against a man who was arrested following an altercation in Mile End Road on November 12, 2024.”
The spokesman added that inquiries are still ongoing into a separate matter relating to “an allegation of perverting the course of justice” connected to the same incident.
Ghorbani has insisted throughout that he is doing nothing wrong in pointing out that Hamas is a proscribed terror group under UK law.
