THERE were jubilant scenes last Monday afternoon as a local pensioner was ‘liberated’ from Dunoon Sheriff Court after spending two days in custody.
Bill Williamson (73), from Ardentinny, was arrested last Saturday afternoon outside Dunoon Burgh Hall. Police allege he displayed a sign which amounted to support for a ‘proscribed organisation’ under the UKs Terrorism Act 2000.
Since July it has been an offence to be a member of the British pro-Palestine network called Palestine Action, fundraise for it, wear or display items arousing reasonable suspicion of membership, or expresses an opinion or belief supportive of the group.
These offences carry a maximum penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
Bill who was with other members of the group Argyll and Bute Palestine Solidarity had been demonstrating that afternoon outside the Burgh Hall, before he was led away in handcuffs by four police officers.
He was then conveyed to Greenock where he remained in remand over the weekend. He was then ‘liberated’ at Dunoon Sheriff Court on Monday afternoon, where a sizeable group of supporters attended in solidarity.
Among the group was Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, author and human rights advocate who had made the journey to Dunoon from Edinburgh to support Bill.
On Monday evening Mr Murray had posted a tweet which read: “It was lovely for me to meet the family and supporters.
“Really important for solidarity to reach out into the less urban areas.”
There were emotional scenes when Bill was finally released from court around 2.30pm, fist clenched in the air he was met with cheers and applause by those who had turned out to support him. However he has since been informed by the procurator fiscals office his case is still active and he could yet find himself in the dock.
Speaking about his arrest Bill explained: “Compared with the suffering in Gaza my experience was nothing. When I was eventually released from the cells at Dunoon Court I was overwhelmed by the reception and show of solidarity. Craig Murray an ex British Ambassador, someone I\d admired for years had travelled a distance to be there. My wife Anna was there and so many others.”
He added: “My main concern was keeping my trousers up as they kept my belt from me even when travelling to court and since I was denied my day in court in Dunoon I was a bit disappointed, though I’m unclear what position Im in. The charges haven’t been dropped, I’m in no position to fund lawyers fees so I’ll have to be busy seeking advice.”
Bill continued: “The experience I went through was not pleasant but I’ll be back at the vigil on Saturday. It’ll take a lot more than this to stop the vigil. When the slaughter and devastation in Gaza has stopped I’ll be able to spend my Saturdays attending to my garden. Because I was not allowed to contact my wife to remind her to water my tomatoes, some of them have died but there’s always next year and I’ll install an automatic watering system in case I’m locked up again.”
Last weekend a total of 532 people were arrested across the UK on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, half of them were aged 60 and above and almost 100 were in their 70s. Police confirmed that it was the largest number of arrests in a single operation in the past 10 years.
