British-Palestinian NHS doctor Rahmeh Aladwan has been released on bail after pleading not guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court to inciting support for proscribed group Hamas, and publishing material intending to stir up racial hatred after posting about Zionism and Gaza on social media site X.
Aladwan, 31, was arrested by Met officers at her home in Pilning, South Gloucestershire, on Thursday for allegedly breaching police bail conditions.
The arrest was the fifth time that she has been seized from her home by police since she went viral for speaking out against Zionism and the Gaza genocide in 2024.
Scotland Yard said Aladwan was arrested for allegedly breaching police bail conditions imposed following previous arrests.
She was then taken to a central London police station, where she was charged with inviting support for Hamas, in counts dating from July 23 to December 31 last year.
The doctor was also charged with publishing or distributing written material, and using words that were threatening, abusive or insulting, intending thereby to stir up racial hatred or having regard to all the circumstances was reckless as to whether racial hatred would be stirred up, in breach of the Public Order Act 1986.
Dr Aladwan denies all the allegations against her and has fundraised with the intention of fighting the accusations in the courts.
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A group of friends, supporters and pro-Palestine activists gathered outside the court in support of Aladwan, chanting, holding placards and handing her a bundle of flowers.
Some shouted “you’re a hero” as she left the court. Now on bail, she will appear at the Old Bailey in London on April 24.
Speaking to 5Pillars outside Westminster Magistrates, Dr Aladwan slammed the case against her as a “campaign of harassment” by the pro-Israel lobby.
“I would describe what is happening to me as an ongoing state-level harassment campaign against me, being pushed by the Zionist lobby, for the benefit of a hostile foreign entity – Israel.
“Those who are celebrating what is happening to me – a doctor who has never broken the law, someone who has worked for the NHS for seven years – it shows the public exactly who they are dealing with. These are the people supporting the mass murder of kids (in Gaza) and the more that this happens, the more they are exposing themselves to the public.”
She also told 5Pillars that she was under great stress but that her many supporters gave her strength to carry on.
“Thank you so much for everything that you have done in terms of supporting me, speaking to me and fundraising for my legal fight. My friends, especially online, know exactly why I am doing this.
“There are some thousands of British Jews who have gone to participate in the Gaza genocide. We have a responsibility to force Britain to stop punishing us and start punishing the real criminals and insha’Allah we will win. We won’t give up and we will not stop supporting Palestine. Free Palestine.”
Hamas, the armed Palestinian group which administers Gaza, has been a proscribed group in Britain since 2021.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, membership or support for the group can result in up to 14 years in prison.
