Sally Rooney could be arrested after she vowed to financially support the activist group Palestine Action, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the British government.
The best-selling novelist promised to support the group ‘in whatever way she can’ by donating her British book sale profits and royalties from BBC adaptations of her books, per the Irish Times.
Rooney, 34, publicly reaffirmed her support for the activist group, which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the Home Office last month.
This decision means that showing support for the group is made illegal under the Terrorism Act in the UK, punishable by a maximum of 14 years in prison.
Speaking to the Guardian, lawyer Sadakat Kadri said: “Receiving money with the intention of using it to support terrorism is an offence under section 15 of the 2000 act. That means Rooney could be arrested without a warrant as a ‘terrorist’.”
Kadri said home secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action was a “shameful attack” on free speech, and the fact Rooney could in theory be arrested for supporting the group was a “particularly stark illustration of the measure’s gross disproportionality.”
The Normal People novelist hit out at the arrest of over 500 “brave individuals” in a moving piece published in the Irish Times. The individuals were arrested for holding placards declaring “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” in London’s Parliament Square last weekend.
She accused the British government of stripping its citizens of basic rights and freedoms, all “in order to protect its relationship with Israel”.
“In this context I feel obliged to state once more that – like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend – I too support Palestine Action,” she wrote.
“If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it. My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets.
“In recent years the UK’s state broadcaster has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels, and therefore regularly pays me residual fees.
“I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can,” she continued.
The BBC has since faced calls to pull Sally Rooney dramas from its iPlayer.
Lord Walney, who formerly acted as the British government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, told the i Paper that the broadcaster would have to “break ties” with the best-selling author and remove adaptations of her novels if she were to finance the banned group.
Additionally, The Jewish Leaders Council and Campaign Against Anti-Semitism has also urged the BBC to reconsider their relationship with Rooney following her pledge to fund Palestine Action.
Furthermore, Faber & Faber, Rooney’s publisher, were also warned they may have to end their partnership with the author if it appears she gave money to the activist group.