On 23rd April, in Whitehall, London, Mark Campbell held up a very large PKK flag, to make a political statement against the continued criminalisation by the UK Government of the Kurdish community and the whole Kurdish issue in Turkey and the Middle East.

Today, together with Beritan, a Kurdish woman from Liverpool, he will appear in court charged under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Campbell said: "On 27 October 2022, I received a letter informing me I am being charged under Section 13 (1) and (3) of the United Kingdom’s Terrorism Act 2000.

On the day of the alleged crime, dozens of police blocked off the road in front of our peaceful demonstration as it came into Whitehall and senior officers sent ‘snatch squads’ into the crowd in a pre-planned operation to aggressively target and seize people whom they had identified as holding a flag."

A vigil will be held today at 9am UK time, when the first hearing takes place at Westminster Magistrates Court, Marylebone Road.