The Wind That Shakes The Barley screenwriter arrested for wearing 'Genocide in Palestine, time to take Action' t-shirt

The award-winning Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, known for his work on The Wind That Shakes The Barley, has been arrested during a pro-Palestine protest in Edinburgh.

He was charged for wearing a T-shirt which allegedly referenced the proscribed protest group Palestine Action, the Guardian reports. The T-shirt read 'Genocide in Palestine, time to take Action'.

Palestine Action was controversially proscribed by the British government as a terrorist group on July 5, under the UK’s terrorism act.

Laverty was released on Monday, and is set to appear in court at a later date. Giving a statement outside the police station, he said: “The most important court in the world, is the court of public opinion. Ordinary people are appalled to see starvation and genocide, and selling of arms to the apartheid State of Israel.

“So it’s actually a great pleasure to be here in solidarity with all those people who have decided to not let their conscience down,” he continued. “So let’s get on with it. Let’s stop murder and genocide in Palestine and carry out the obligations of the genocide convention.”

A long-term collaborator of the film-maker and activist Ken Loach, Laverty has written screenplays for films including Carla’s Song, Sweet Sixteen and I, Daniel Blake. Their collaboration on The Wind That Shakes the Barley won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

A number of artists and public figures have already faced the threat of arrest in the UK for their alleged support of Palestine Action, including author Normal People author Sally Rooney, who was threatened with arrest under the UK Terrorism Act.

In a piece published in the Irish Times last week, the Irish author said she will continue to support Palestine Action "in whatever way I can," including residuals from BBC adaptations of her books. "If this makes me a 'supporter of terror' under UK law, so be it," Rooney wrote.