// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
More than 50 arrested at Palestine Action support rally
Merseyside Police said more than 50 protesters had been arrested
More than 50 demonstrators have been arrested outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool during a protest in support of the banned Palestine Action group, police have said.
More than 250 protesters sat outside the conference centre earlier, many holding home-made banners which read: "I support Palestine Action".
Scores of police officers stood by before moving in to start making arrests, warning protesters they were illegally holding signs supporting a proscribed organisation.
After asking them if they were going to continue to do so, officers led some of the protesters away, telling them they had been arrested under the Terrorism Act.
Merseyside Police said more than 50 people had so far been detained at the Defend Our Juries event and that officers were in the process of making arrests on suspicion of wearing/carrying an article supporting a proscribed organisation.
A force spokesperson said it respected everyone's rights to protest lawfully while also aiming to keep the peace and ensure public safety.
The force said it made "detailed and co-ordinated plans ahead of such events to ensure it can apply this consistently, fairly and proportionately".
The spokesperson said not everyone present at the protest had been committing a criminal offence.
The arrests were criticised by Amnesty International, which called them a "shameful attack on freedom of speech".