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The Crown actor Khalid Abdalla has said he has been summoned to attend a “formal interview” by the Metropolitan police in connection with a pro-Palestine protest.
Abdalla, who played Dodi Fayed in the Netflix series based on the royal family, said on social media he had received the letter in relation to a Palestine Solidarity Campaign protest on 18 January.
“It remains to be seen if this will result in charges,” he wrote on Instagram.
Abdalla, who has also starred in films including United 93, The Kite Runner and The Day of the Jackal, said: “The right to protest is under attack in this country and it requires us all to defend it.
“While there is an alarming rise in attempts to censor voices that stand up for Palestine, even as it faces open calls for ethnic cleansing, it will not work.”
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The Palestine Coalition said it “condemns” the Met’s decision to issue letters to a range of activists.
The group claimed the police alleged in the letters that the recipients had “breached conditions imposed by the police to limit the right to protest” against the conflict in Gaza.
The protest’s chief steward, Chris Nineham, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign director, Ben Jamal, have already been charged with offences arising from the same protest, along with others. The MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell had also been interviewed under caution by the police, the group said.
Dozens of pro-Palestine demonstrators were arrested in central London on 18 January on suspicion of breaching protest conditions. One of the conditions prevented those participating from entering a specific area around Portland Place.
Thousands of people had gathered to protest against Israel’s actions in the 15-month conflict in Gaza, a day after a ceasefire deal was agreed with Hamas.
The Guardian previously reported that Abdalla had addressed the rally. He told the crowd: “Tomorrow phase one of the ceasefire begins. It remains to be seen if the ceasefire will hold or if the blood shed since it was announced augurs what it will become.
“But still we will have cause to celebrate whatever its shape for the respite in this genocide, for the return of the hostages, for the release of prisoners.”
A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “As part of our ongoing investigation into alleged breaches of Public Order Act conditions on Saturday, January 18, we have invited a further eight people to be interviewed under caution at a police station.
“While we are aware of names being attributed to those who have been invited for interview, we do not confirm the identity of anyone under investigation.”
