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An 80-year-old woman arrested for holding a placard at a pro-Palestine rally has said she is deeply traumatised after she was held by police for almost 27 hours, during which officers forced their way into her house and searched it.
Marianne Sorrell from Wells, Somerset was detained at a rally in Cardiff on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, which earlier this month became the first direct action group to be banned under UK anti-terrorism laws.
She said officers removed 19 items from her house, including iPads, a Palestine flag, books on Palestine, material related to Extinction Rebellion and the climate crisis, as well as drumsticks for – and a belt that holds – her samba drum. A friend who went to feed the cats and walked in on the police searching the house said there appeared to be a geiger counter – which measures radiation – on the table.
Sorrell, a retired teacher, said: “At 80, to be treated like a dangerous terrorist is deeply shocking. I’ve been very traumatised by this. Every morning I wake up feeling sick, nauseous. [I have] had to take anti-sickness pills.
“They’ve actually not taken anything that could be classed as illegal but it’s very confusing that they’re beginning to think anything connected to Palestine or support for Palestine is illegal in some way.”
She said the arrests at the 12 July Defend Our Juries rally took place five minutes from the scheduled end of the one-hour demonstration, the timetable of which had been communicated to the police in advance.
Sorrell was arrested with her friend Trisha Fine, 75, also from Wells and a retired teacher, who was held for the same period of time.
The pair said they gave “no comment” interviews in which they were asked whether they knew that Palestine Action supported violence and whether they were individually prepared to use violence.
Eleven other people were arrested at the Cardiff rally. Sorrell said officers broke into her house through the back door before replacing the lock. Neighbours told her that about 10 officers were present for approximately three hours and her friend who went to feed the cats said she saw them poking long cotton buds into Sorrell’s jars of dried goods.
“Whenever I open a drawer or cupboard, I can see that they’ve been searched,” said Sorrell. “I’m not sure what they were looking for.”
The women have been bailed until October. Their bail conditions prohibit contact with each other and spending any nights away from their homes. Fine said: “This restriction about staying at home is an issue because my husband is recovering from cancer treatment and we planned a couple of treats which we’ve already booked and paid for: a trip to Madrid in late August, and a trip driving around Europe for September. I can’t do those so that is pretty onerous. He’s had a tough time and he deserves a break.
“And, well, am I a 75-year-old terrorist? I don’t think so. It’s completely out of order. You just wonder what the hell is happening with this country and this government.”
She said that during her detention officers refused to let her have antibiotics she was taking for a serious gum infection and failed to call her husband to tell him about her arrest, despite having agreed to do so.
Under the Terrorism Act the friends face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Sorrell said: “I just feel if I’m put in prison for this, and even if I die in prison for this, I can’t think of a better thing to die for really than for the justice of the people who’ve been persecuted now for almost my lifetime.”
South Wales police did not directly address any of the matters raised. A spokesperson said the investigation led by Welsh counter-terrorism police was continuing.
