Majid Freeman walked out of Birmingham Crown Court today (10 May) without a conviction after the jury failed to reach a verdict in his highly watched Palestine-related trial. The judge discharged the jury and ordered a full retrial, now scheduled for 20 September 2027, meaning Freeman leaves court today an innocent man in the eyes of the law. The retrial is expected to last four weeks.
Activist and humanitarian aid worker Majid Freeman had been charged with ‘encouraging terrorism’ over social media posts prosecutors claimed showed support for Hamas and Palestinian resistance. However, the case centred entirely on reposted content and statements defending the right of Palestinians to resist occupation under international law, rather than any allegation of physical violence, operational involvement, or financial support.
Throughout the trial, Freeman repeatedly asserted his support for the Palestinian people and their right to resist occupation, arguing that the prosecution was an attempt to criminalise political speech and solidarity with Gaza.
Responding to the judge’s decision, Freeman said he welcomed the retrial: ‘I welcome the opportunity of a retrial, because it means the evidence of what Israel has done to Gaza, the brutality, the systemic destruction of an entire people, will once again be placed before a jury of the British public. Let them see it again. Let the world be reminded again.’
His case is widely seen as a major test of free speech on Palestine in Britain and whether support for resistance to occupation can be prosecuted as terrorism.
