Ousman Noor on trial: Zionist lobby seeks to silence free speech

Anti-Zionist Barrister, Ousman Noor never imagined that speaking truth would place him at odds with his profession. The human rights lawyer is facing charges under the UK Terrorism Act (2000) for speaking out against Israeli occupation and genocidal violence.

He will now stand trial before the Bar Standards Board, who will determine his future and ability to practice law and the extent to which UK lawyers can freely express themselves without fear of reprisal.

Freedom of expression on trial

Noor specialises in refugee and detention law, with a focus on armed conflict and civilian protection. In 2020, he became Government Relations Manager for Campaign to Stop Killer Robots (SKR), as he explains to the Canary:

I was basically a lobbyist for disarmament, advocating for international law, and explaining its importance.

Coincidently, on October 7, 2023, when he attended the UN General Assembly in New York witnessing what would eventually upend his career. His colleagues discussed autonomous weapons and disarmament protocols, while the Israeli Ambassador spoke about Palestinians in language Noor recognised as dehumanising. He says:

The only thing to say in that room at the time was ‘I condemn Hamas.’ Israel was getting all of the global sympathy. Later, there was absolute passivity, or applause, for the announcement that they were going to, as Netanyahu said, turn Gaza into a wasteland.

It should be noted Netanyahu said that “all the place Hamas are hiding, we will turn them into rubble”.

Regardless, a genocide was looming, and the diplomatic space in which he had spent years advocating for international law was silent, so were his colleagues. The indiscriminate bombing had begun. Noor felt compelled to act and told the Canary:

No one gave a fuck basically. In the end, after crying about the issue, I stood outside the UN and made a genuinely emotional appeal. I called for people to speak out against ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid.

Noor has been fired from his job but refuses to be be intimidated into silence.

Since these developments, he has been involved in activism on every front, advocating for the rights of Palestinians and even set-up Protect Palestine. The international movement campaigns for an end Israeli occupation through military action and calls for a one-state solution. Commenting on his motivations, he said:

It became obvious that every judicial and diplomatic mechanism is futile in the face of an unhinged fascist messianic extermination process. The Israelis don’t care about international law. They don’t care about international public opinion. We need to recognise this is fascism, and this is how it works.

Legal analysis is not a crime

In the background, Noor is being investigated by the Bar Standards Board. In October 2024, UK Lawyers for Israel lodged a complaint centred on a Tweet he posted from Jordan arguing that it expresses support for a ‘terrorist organisation’.

The tweet argued that Hezbollah had the legal and moral right to use military force against the Israeli occupation forces. On the same day, the lawyer published a 12-minute in which he qualified his argument with a legal analysis.

Here is why Hezbollah has a legal and moral right to target the @IDF.

1. The IDF is a genocidal and morally depraved armed force.

⭕️A UN International Commission of Inquiry independently verified 7,000 pieces of evidence demonstrating widespread war crimes committed by the IDF,… pic.twitter.com/wklGQ5wytE

— Ousman Babir Noor (@ousmannoor) June 20, 2024

The Bar Standards Board claim that the barrister has brought the profession into disrepute, while citing his alleged support of a terrorist organisation as the basis for this charge. of him. Noor argues that his critique was always directed at Israel’s army for committing human rights abuses. Commenting on the social media post in question, he told the Canary:

Everyone in international law and in Jordan, where I was living at the time, knows Hezbollah has this right. Obviously the UK doesn’t see it this way. The Zionists started making my tweet go viral, and tagged the police.

Noor’s legal team argues that the board cannot initiate civil proceedings under the Terrorism Act.

There is also the question of whether he has brought the profession into disrepute as claimed. He sought the opinion of Dr Ralph Wilde, an international law specialist. He confirms that Noor’s post is compliant with international law and providing legal analysis is what the profession demands.

UK board in defence of Israel’s army

Speaking about the board’s response, Noor says:

They’re just so used to defending Israel, to defending the IDF,  to this idea that a barrister, a Muslim who’s a bit radical needs to be punished. There’s a real psychological aspect to all this. I joined their club, I talk like them, I have the background, I’m in their fraternity. But I’ve now been kicked out, and I’m speaking out publicly. There’s a weird tribal need for them to now try and isolate me.

The Terrorism Act 2000 grants the police sweeping powers and is being used to erode civil liberties and free speech in opposition to Zionism and Israel’s genocide.

Political pressure, in Noor’s case, has led to the misuse of terrorism legislation to muzzle, intimidate, and punish a legal professional in the absence of a police investigation. The word ‘terrorist’ has no agreed upon international definition but it is powerful enough to silence a whole country. Noor is prevented from working as preparation for trial is underway. If the prosecution succeeds, he faces a severe financial penalty and the risk of being struck off.

Noor will be represented by barrister, Franck Magennis, who has been instructed to defend the case in a way that challenges the “racist ideology of Zionism”. Noor wants Zionism to be the focus of the trial. Victory, he told the Canary, is raising awareness of Zionism.

The root culprit here is Zionism, a political ideology which he says is based on supremacy and extermination.

When we think of the Zionist lobby, people think of institutions like UK Lawyers for Israel, the Campaign Against Antisemitism, or Labour Friends of Israel. But we need to see it as an ideology that pervades the entire British culture, media, political system, and literature.

There are heavy stakes at play in this trial. If Noor loses, the trial sets a new precedence — granting regulators the green light to silence professionals speaking out against genocide, even when police are not involved nor interested.

The solice is very obvious. I have my health, I have my family, I have stability. The mental and spiritual stuff is just in my head ultimately, and that we’re winning on, as well!  What I see is that I have a good life. I’m a barrister. I’m fighting my trial for it, but still I’ve had that privilege. I have a British passport. I have contacts, so I don’t feel sorry for myself. It has been, overall, a very liberating process. But whatever happens, we must win!”

Ousman Noor’s trial will run from 20 to 21 January 2026 at the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service, London. Donate here to support Noor.

Featured image via Nour Ousman