"I was unlawfully arrested and wasn't given my phone call."
British human rights activist Shakeela Bibi was detained on charges of a public order offence for allegedly inciting racial hatred on November 15, 2024.
Shakeela is a Dudley Palestine Solidarity Group member and an anti-racism campaigner who has been engaging in peaceful protests and civic dissent for over a year.
In 2024, she was an Independent candidate for Dudley in the General and Local elections. While she did not win, she came second to Labour, who won all three seats.
Her arrest occurred after a protest outside the Elbit Systems UAV factory in Shenstone near Birmingham.
The protest was part of ongoing demonstrations against Elbit. Shakeela attends the protest outside Elbit every month.
Elbit Systems has been identified as a key Israeli weapons manufacturer. It supplies munitions and 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land-based equipment.
Activists and protesters are demanding an end to Elbit factory labour involved in producing components for weapons. These weapons are used in what international law has recognised as a genocide in Gaza.
The legal reality of genocide taking place has been repeatedly affirmed, such as by international lawyer and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
These protests, along with broader demonstrations, call for an end to Israeli violence, killings, and the occupation of Gaza and Palestine.
Speaking to DESIblitz, Shakeela claimed police detained her over concerns related to an Arabic chant she had used during the protest, which officers deemed potentially racist.
Others echoed this chant at the protest, and it is a common refrain across various demonstrations.
The chant was, “Huriya, huriya, Falesteen Arabiya, Israel Haramiyya”, which translates to “Freedom, freedom, Palestine is Arab, Israel is a thief.”
Shakeela was taken into custody, held at Stoke police station, and released on bail in the late evening.
The arrest is among numerous others that have occurred since the winter of 2023.
Shakeela Bibi Shares What Happened
Recalling events, Shakeela told DESIblitz: “I was peacefully protesting at Elbit, but obviously, the police had a problem with what I was doing.
“I have used this chant at previous protests and translated its meaning into English for those who don’t speak Arabic. That’s why the crowd knew it this time.
“As on previous occasions, police were also present this time and said nothing.
“Once I was leaving with friends, we found two officers following us, and they singled me out. Later, more came to the carpark.
“When asked why I’m being arrested, they said something about ‘using racist words’, which shocked me as I’m an anti-racism campaigner.
“I’d never use such language as I passionately oppose it.
“I have protested across cities with prominent Jewish protesters, including Jewish rabbis and Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
“I have been endorsed by Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos.
“As they were throwing me into the van, I told them they hadn’t read me my rights, but they ignored me.”
“As a Muslim woman, I also found their conduct inappropriate before, during and after the arrest.
“I was unlawfully arrested and wasn’t given my phone call. I was denied my rights.”
Watch the Videos. Warning – Distressing Images & Explicit Language
Shakeela has released a formal statement along with the two videos on Facebook.
Shakeela continued: “The police also refused to help me address the fact that I had children waiting for me to pick them up.
“It was only due to my fellow protesters and my friend that the legal representation I was entitled to materialised.
“Only after my solicitor contacted me was I told under what law I was arrested. But I was not told what exact words I used that were objectionable.
“From the moment I was in the back of that van, I chanted non-stop until I left that police station.
“They thought my voice would tire out, but it didn’t, and it won’t.”
She told DESIblitz that she was detained because of her positionality and use of a chant specifically in Arabic:
“I feel they had racially profiled me because of my ethnicity, and I’m a prominent local figure on Palestine. I don’t think I would have been arrested if I had been French or anything else.
“Or if I said the same chant in French and not Arabic, I don’t think I would have been arrested.
“Before the interview, with my solicitor present, they showed me footage of my chant and said a female Indian officer had translated.
“It transpired that she didn’t know Arabic but used her knowledge of Punjabi to assume meanings.
“The meaning of the chant could have been easily Google searched. This would have informed the officers that the claims for my arrest were unfounded.”
Understanding and Destigmatising Words and Language
Shakeela Bibi’s arrest brings to light broader issues around due process and authorities’ attitudes towards and interpretations of words and phrases. Thus leading to potentially unjustified arrests.
Some protesters have held, for example, anti-Semitic banners. However, most pro-Palestinian protests in the West have showcased multi-ethnic and multi-faith solidarity.
Chants of Arabic slogans and words like “Intifada” have led to tension. For some, the unease is evidence of long-standing racism and Islamophobia becoming more visible.
Yet for others, such as Israel and its supporters, “Intifada” is threatening, violent and antisemitic.
Words like “Intifada” and “Allahu Akbar” (meaning God is great) have been demonised within certain spaces and by some public figures.
Often in the West, these words are associated with terrorism and violence.
Conservative MP Robert Jenrick was accused of Islamophobia for saying police should have “immediately arrested” any protesters shouting Allahu Akbar during 2023’s Gaza ceasefire protests.
Jenrick is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice.
There is an ongoing need for contextualisation and awareness of words, especially non-English words and their meaning.
Without adequate training, officers may misinterpret and worry about phrases in unfamiliar languages, leading to unfair stigmatisation of activists.
The fear of unfamiliar languages often feeds into broader societal prejudices, with Arabic chants and words frequently being seen as inherently threatening.
This alienates protesters and raises concerns about the erosion of free speech rights as well as the further mainstreaming of racism and Islamophobia.
A concerted effort must be made to address these issues from the top down.
However, the arrest of protesters for using certain words, slogans and chants is not merely a matter of misunderstandings or a lack of comprehension.
Divisive rhetoric and political perspectives cannot be allowed to misuse the law and undermine civil liberties.
Police Powers to Arrest and the Protests
Since late 2023, hundreds of protesters and activists have been arrested. Some have received lengthy custodial sentences, and many prosecutions remain pending.
The expansion of police powers under recent legislation has deepened concerns about the erosion of democratic rights in the UK.
“Anti-protest laws” such as the 2023 Public Order Act have faced heavy criticism.
In July, Amnesty International UK declared:
“The right to protest in the UK has been eroded in recent years – particularly in England and Wales – despite being protected under international law.
“In 2022, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act handed police in England and Wales broad powers to shut down protests and expanded criminal offences and punishments for peaceful protest activities.”
Authorities justify these measures in the name of public order.
Critics contend that such laws unfairly target marginalised groups, particularly pro-Palestinian activists, suppressing their right to dissent.
The growing stigmatisation of protests threatens democratic values and raises questions about the future of British civil liberties.
There are hundreds of thousands of British citizens, including those from South Asian backgrounds, continuing to protest.
Chants in English and non-English are heard across protests. The meaning of these chants must be understood and acknowledged within law enforcement and the wider system.
This recognition and understanding should also be applied at a national level. Presently, how police engage with protesters and the words used varies.
Shakeela had previously used the same chants and said similar words in the presence of police without any problems, but this occasion proved to be markedly different.
Dismantling of racism and Islamophobia in spaces and perspectives are also needed.
Politics and the law must be separated.
Now on bail, Shakeela is determined to continue to raise her voice:
“The police are trying to intimidate us; it’s not going to work.”
“This was the only time in my children’s lives that they could not reach me, and I couldn’t reach them.
“It caused undue distress, which could have been avoided if I had been granted my right to a phone call.
“I find it disgusting that taxpayer resources were used to target me when we are told that there is not enough funding to deal with serious crimes that impact all our lives.
“I will take further action on this matter.”
Loading ...