Scottish PEN

Today, Scottish PEN reaffirms the message below and joins PEN International and many other PEN centres who have ceased to post on this platform. You can continue to follow our activities and campaigns elsewhere, including on the Scottish PEN website.

UK foreign minister @DavidLammy flat-out denies aiding Israel's war in Gaza: "it would be quite wrong for the British government to assist in the prosecution of this war in Gaza". But flight-tracker information first exposed by @kennardmatt last week shows this was a lie: 🧵

⭕️ A child has been crushed to death by an airdropped aid package in Khan Younis, Gaza—underscoring what the UN and MSF have long warned: the method is not only dangerous but wildly inefficient, delivering the equivalent of a single truckload per flight when 600 are needed daily. In northern Gaza, a man who recently visited an airdrop site told Al Jazeera: “People are tearing each other apart for [the aid], and the amount is so limited.”

@JulieMcNeill1 @shugmcmillan @StAnzaPoetry @FedWritersScot @ByLeavesWeLive @PalestineWrites @PSCupdates @ScottishPEN @PoetrySociety @magmapoetry @heraldscotland @edinburghpaper @EdinburghUni

Scottish PEN is delighted that our Vice President @lizzie_eldridge has been acquitted of all charges following her arrest last Nov while protesting against the genocide in #Palestine The #RightToProtest & #FreedomOfSpeech are under attack, & this victory is a victory for us all

John Swinney to consider imposing state boycott on Israel | The National archive.ph/2025.08.07-043…

We urge our members & friends to send this template email to your MP, urging that biometric visa requirements be deferred for Palestinian students Please share widely @ggectee @scottishpsc @ScotNational @heraldscotland paih.org/get-involved/c…

The Scottish Government is considering imposing a state boycott on Israel, The National can reveal #Echobox=1754551925-2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">thenational.scot/news/25371155.…

🔴 The targeting of journalists in #Gaza is an assault on truth itself. 📢 Sign this open letter calling for the UK government to exert pressure on Israel to stop targeting journalists and to lift the embargo on foreign media. We must act NOW! ifj.org/media-centre/n…

BREAKING: Gaza spy flights from UK base on Cyprus secretly shift to plane leased by company with billions in US military contracts New flights are on blocked list, but we tracked US plane over Gaza on 28 July when pilot forgot to turn off transponder for 1st time in 20 months👇

LATEST: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to hold a security cabinet meeting where he will seek approval for his plan on the full occupation of Gaza #Echobox=1754387082-2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">thenational.scot/news/25365756.…

Racism, intolerance & discrimination tear at the fabric of societies. Ending discrimination benefits everyone. Each of us can take action to #FightRacism and create a better world for all. un.org/en/fight-racism

They're Calling Me A Terrorist Thank you @PBI_PS for publishing this piece & for your brilliance & bravery 🇵🇸 We'll keep fighting until #Palestine is free 🇵🇸✊🇵🇸 #PalestineAction @HudaAmmori @scottishpsc @ggectee @ScottishPEN lizzieeldridge.wordpress.com/2025/08/04/the… via @lizzie_eldridge

@ggectee @scottishpsc @HudaAmmori @DefendourJuries @amnesty @libertyhq @UNHumanright @CAGEintl

SHRC: @PoliceScotland may have breached human rights in policing pro-Palestine demos. Articles 10 & 11 ECHR protect the right to free expression & freedom of assembly. Arrests under the Terrorism Act "risks disproportionately restricting the right to peaceful protest".

“This is a serious attack on freedom of expression and the right to protest in the UK. We need to ensure that people can share content about Palestine online with being afraid that they will be characterised as supportive of terrorism.” #OpenRightsGroup

An internal British army media report acknowledges Israel is “bombing hospitals and ambulances”. It claims Israeli troops are breaching the Geneva Convention in ways not done by Germany in World War Two. declassifieduk.org/israeli-attack…

On this day in 1834, slavery was abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force. August 1st is Emancipation Day, a public holiday in several Caribbean countries. The British like other colonial powers had allowed the widespread practice of slavery to take place during the time of expansion to the new world. In 1772, the ruling in the case of Somerset v Stewart determined that slavery was unsupported by the common law in England and Wales. Slavery was finally abolished throughout the British Empire by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. The territories controlled at that time by the East India Company, Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) and St. Helen's were excluded. Slavery was not abolished in these regions until 1843. The first country in the world to observe a public holiday for Emancipation Day was Trinidad and Tobago , when Emancipation Day replaced Discovery Day in 1985. Ref; Decision of Lord Mansfield in the Somerset Case, 1772 (read on: aaregistry.org/story/somerset…) While the ruling was not clear on the situation in other parts of the Empire, this case was seen as a key turning point in the change towards emancipation.

Italian MPs of various parties just invited me to present my last report, which I did. Three MPs from the government coalition resorted to the usual antisemitism smear, without challenging ANY of my findings. Meet one of the "accusers": @galeazzobignami