Banksy Mural Depicting Judge Striking protester Removed From London Court
London, UK – A new mural by anonymous street artist Banksy, portraying a judge bringing down a gavel on a protester, has been removed from the wall of the Royal Courts of Justice in London just two days after its appearance. The artwork,revealed on Monday,appears to be a direct response to a recent crackdown on demonstrations supporting the Palestine Action campaign group.Images released by the Associated Press on Wednesday showed workers removing the mural, which depicts a bewigged judge striking a protester clutching a blood-stained placard. Work to remove the image began on Tuesday and continued Wednesday,according to PA Media.
The mural is widely interpreted as commentary on the mass arrests linked to protests against the British government’s ban on Palestine Action. In July, the UK designated the activist network a “terrorist organisation” following actions by its members, including storming a Royal Air Force base and damaging military aircraft. Supporting or belonging to the group is now a criminal offense.
However, rights groups and campaigners have criticized the government’s decision, arguing it criminalizes pro-Palestinian activism and threatens the right to peaceful protest. Lawyers and civil liberties advocates, including Amnesty International, have labelled the ban a “disturbing legal overreach” and a risky precedent for restricting activism related to foreign policy.
Critics have also accused the Labor government,led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer,of enabling the export of military items to Israel. Last month, Starmer announced the UK would recognize the state of Palestine amid mounting pressure.
Banksy has a long history of using his art to highlight the Palestinian struggle under Israeli occupation, with previous murals in the occupied West Bank depicting scenes of resistance and the impact of the Israeli separation barrier, often referred to as the apartheid wall.He also opened the “Walled Off Hotel” in bethlehem in 2017, offering a view he described as “the worst view in the world” – a direct reference to the barrier.
