Met police officer refuses to acknowledge Hezbollah is terrorist

Met police officers were filmed refusing to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization and saying the description was a matter of “opinion”.

The interaction was recorded by a member of the public during a pro-Palestinian demonstration billed as a “vigil for Lebanon” in central London on September 28.

Footage shows two officers urging a concerned onlooker to “move away” and stop “distracting” the vigil honoring Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on September 27.

When asked what the purpose of the vigil was, an officer responsible for organizing the event incorrectly stated that it was “about the death of the leader of Lebanon.” He then admitted that he was not “much interested in politics” because he “is not allowed to”.

Hezbollah banned since 2001

Parts of Hezbollah have been banned since 2001, with the military wing banned in 2008, before the entire organization in 2019, because it “supports terrorism in Iraq and the Palestinian territories”.

A Met Police spokesperson has since admitted the video showed the need to inform officers of the banned status of “Hezbollah, Hamas and other groups”.

The force added that officers were present in the area to “identify any offences, including support for banned organisations”.

The video was shared on »

The group claims that anti-Israel protesters in the UK were allowed to “freely” show their support for Hezbollah, which is banned as a terrorist organization under UK law.

Describing the images as “breathtaking”, the campaign group asked: “How are the Metropolitan Police supposed to protect us when they don’t actually educate their officers on the law? »

“Your opinion is up to you”

In the video, the person filming asks police if the vigil is “mourning the leader of a terrorist organisation”, to which the Met officer responds: “Your opinion is up to you.”

The police officer then activates the individual recording and asks: “Why are you here filming him?”

“If you don’t support it or believe in it, why are you here? »

He later repeats “why were you filming us? ” before the other officer intervened to say, “Why don’t you leave, sir?” Why don’t you leave rather than cause a distraction.”

A Met Police spokesperson said: “The proscribed status of Hezbollah, Hamas and other groups is included in briefings given to officers deployed to policing events, but we acknowledge that this video shows that we need to do more to ensure that the details of these briefings are fully understood.

“Contrary to what was said in the video, this particular event was announced as a “vigil for Lebanon” and not for Hassan Nasrallah, or Hezbollah, in particular.

“Attendance was limited and officers were present throughout the area to identify any offences, including support for banned organisations.”

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