Pink Floyd’s legendary frontman Roger Waters is facing up to 14 years in prison in the UK for publicly supporting Palestine Action, now designated a terrorist group under the Terrorism Act 2000. His bold stance in favor of Palestine has thrust him into legal peril, as expressing solidarity with the organization became a criminal offense on July 5, highlighting Britain’s aggressive crackdown on pro-Palestine activism.
Waters’ endorsement risks severe prosecution, with membership or public support for Palestine Action outlawed as of that Saturday. London police arrested 29 people in Parliament Square for displaying placards reading, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” underscoring the chilling effect on free speech and the growing tensions surrounding advocacy for Palestinian rights in the UK.
Loudersound.com reports: In the video posted on his social media channels on July 5, former Pink Floyd legend Waters says, “For the record, I support Palestine Action”, calling the pressure group “a great organisation”, and sharing his belief that the “non-violent” group are “absolutely not terrorists in any way.”
Speaking from his studio, Waters then flips the camera on his phone to display a piece of cardboard on which he has written the words, ‘ROGER WATERS SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION’ beneath which he added “Parliament has been corrupted by agents of a genocidal foreign power! STAND UP AND BE COUNTED. IT’S NOW!!!”
The cardboard is dated “5th July 2025.”
In his video, Waters declares July 5 as “Independence Day 2025”, and states, “I declare my independence from the Government of the UK, who’ve just designated Palestine Action a terrorist, proscribed terrorist organisation.”
“This is the ‘I am Spartacus’ moment,” he writes on this post. “Please stand up.”
Israel has been accused of carrying out genocidal acts during the ongoing war in Gaza by numerous organisations, including the UN Human Rights Council.
Israel’s military campaign, sparked by the October 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israeli soil that saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 people taken hostage, has resulted in the death of over 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. 58 hostages from the October 7, 2023 attack remain held in captivity by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has denied any genocidal intent, which requires certain thresholds to be met in order to be legally recognised; a case brought forward by South Africa to The International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians is ongoing.The conflict has been on-going for decades, with official UN figures for the 15 years before the 2023 escalation recording 7277 Palestinian deaths and 162,121 Palestinian injuries in occupied Palestinian territory and Israel since 2008, and 368 Israeli deaths and 6,670 Israeli injuries during the same time span in the region.
Roger Waters has been a long-time vocal supporter of the Palestinian people, and has been accused of anti-semitism for past comments referencing the political situation in Gaza.
In 2023, Polly Samson, the partner of Waters’ former Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour, posted a tweet on Twitter calling Waters, “antisemitic to your rotten core”, “a Putin apologist” and “a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac”, adding “Enough of your nonsense.”
David Gilmour followed up the tweet by adding, “Every word demonstrably true.”
There has been no reaction, as yet, by any UK police force in regards to Waters’ video.
However, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) responded by posting, “We have reviewed this post. Palestine Action has been proscribed. Anyone expressing support for it contrary to section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 commits a criminal offence. We stand ready to privately prosecute offenders in instances where an offence has been made out and the authorities fail to act.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism reported Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh aka Mo Chara to the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command last year over allegations that he displayed a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a gig in London on November 21.
Ó hAnnaidh appared in court in London on June 18 to answer the charge of displaying the flag at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation.”
The rapper was released on unconditional bail, and will return to court on August 20.
