Two women have been charged under the Terrorism Act after displaying images of a paraglider during a pro-Palestinian protest in London.
Heba Alhayek, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, from south London, were charged on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said.
The sports equipment gained notoriety after they were used by Hamas terrorists as vehicles to cross Gaza’s border with Israel on Oct. 7 when they killed over 1,000 Israelis, triggering the Israel-Hamas war.
The Met issued an appeal on Oct. 27 for information about four protesters, including the two women.
The pair were arrested on Oct. 30 when they came forward to a police station in south London after recognising themselves in media reports, the Met previously said.
Ms. Alhayek and Ms. Ankunda had been released on bail and charged on Friday when they returned. They have been released on bail again and are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Nov. 10.
Nick Price, head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Criminal proceedings against the two women are active and they each have the right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.
“The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent, and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a criminal court to consider.”
The Met is still looking for a third woman who had been at the same event with a picture of a paraglider on display.
The force is also looking for a man who was seen “waving a placard with the words ‘I fully support Hamas’ on it during a protest on Bond Street” on Oct. 21 as part of a separate ongoing investigation.
