Actors, writers condemn UK anti-terror law targeting Sally Rooney

In an open letter on the cover of the New Statesman, dozens of leading figures term the UK law banning Palestine Action a ‘repressive absurdity’.

Top row from left: Arundhati Roy, Kate Nash, Gary Lineker. Middle row from left: Juliet Stevenson, Paul Mescal and Tilda Swinton. Bottom row from left: Jonathan Glazer, Zadie Smith and historian Tariq Ali [Getty Images]

Dozens of leading writers, actors and activists have condemned the UK law used to proscribe Palestine Action as a “repressive absurdity” in an open letter backing Irish novelist Sally Rooney, whose books have been withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom.

The letter comes after Rooney said her books had been pulled from sale in the UK due to her public support for Palestine Action, a group the British government designated as a “terrorist organisation”.

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Signatories include actors Paul Mescal – who played in an adaptation of her book Normal People, Susan Sarandon and Tilda Swinton; broadcaster Gary Lineker; and writers Arundhati Roy, Naomi Klein, JM Coetzee, Zadie Smith and William Dalrymple.

Filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, philosopher Slavoj Zizek, musician Kate Nash and the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap have also signed the letter.

“Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist. Her books must be available to the public,” the letter reads. “Their withdrawal from sale, on the basis of ill-conceived and draconian anti-terror legislation, is an affront to basic principles of free speech and expression so long taken for granted in this country.”

The letter appears on the cover of this week’s New Statesman magazine, two weeks before the Supreme Court is set to hear a case on the ban.

“We categorically reject censorship – whether direct or indirect – and urge the government to change course, amending the legislation which has led us to this point of repressive absurdity,” the letter concludes.

Rooney’s publisher, Faber & Faber, said on Wednesday that the withdrawal stemmed from “circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work” and to continue sales would be an “unconscionable situation for a publisher”.

Rooney has said that further publication of her work could constitute a “serious criminal offence”.

She said she had made “every effort to be honest” with the public about her beliefs and intentions, adding that she was “wholly prepared to accept the consequences”.

E-books of Rooney’s work have also been removed from sale in the UK, although some physical copies remain available in bookshops.

She has authored four best-selling novels, selling more than six million books globally.

在《新政治家》杂志封面刊登的一封公开信中，数十位知名人士称英国禁止巴勒斯坦行动组织的法律是“压制性的荒谬之举”。

上排从左至右：阿伦达蒂·罗伊、凯特·纳什、加里·莱因克尔。中排从左至右：朱丽叶·史蒂文森、保罗·梅斯卡尔、蒂尔达·斯文顿。下排从左至右：乔纳森·格雷泽、扎迪·史密斯、历史学家塔里克·阿里。[盖蒂图片社]

数十位著名作家、演员和活动家在一封公开信中谴责英国用来取缔巴勒斯坦行动组织的法律是“压制性的荒谬之举”，以声援爱尔兰小说家萨莉·鲁尼，她的书已被英国下架。

此前，鲁尼表示，由于她公开支持巴勒斯坦行动组织（该组织被英国政府认定为“恐怖组织”），她的书籍已在英国下架。

英国首相顾问的妻子表达了对巴勒斯坦行动的“支持”（共3条，此为第1条）。

萨莉·鲁尼的三本书籍因支持巴勒斯坦行动组织而被英国下架，以下列出其中第二本。

英国警方排除对首相顾问妻子在巴勒斯坦行动组织发布的帖子展开调查的可能性（共3条，此为第3条）。

签署者包括演员保罗·梅斯卡尔（他曾在根据她的小说《正常人》改编的电影中饰演苏珊·萨兰登和蒂尔达·斯文顿）、广播员加里·莱因克尔以及作家阿伦达蒂·罗伊、娜奥米·克莱因、J·M·库切、扎迪·史密斯和威廉·达尔林普尔。

电影制作人乔纳森·格雷泽、哲学家斯拉沃热·齐泽克、音乐家凯特·纳什和爱尔兰嘻哈组合 Kneecap 也都在这封信上签了名。

信中写道：“萨莉·鲁尼是一位作家，不是恐怖分子。她的书必须向公众开放。以考虑不周且严苛的反恐立法为由，停止销售她的书籍，是对这个国家长期以来被视为理所当然的言论自由和表达自由基本原则的公然冒犯。”

这封信刊登在本周《新政治家》杂志的封面上，距离最高法院审理有关该禁令的案件还有两周时间。

信中最后写道：“我们断然拒绝任何形式的审查——无论是直接的还是间接的——并敦促政府改变路线，修改导致我们陷入这种压制性荒谬境地的法律。”

鲁尼的出版商费伯出版社周三表示，撤回发行是由于“费伯无法将英国的收入支付给萨莉·鲁尼作为她作品的报酬”，继续销售对出版商来说是“不合情理的”。

鲁尼表示，进一步发表她的作品可能构成“严重的刑事犯罪”。

她说，她已“尽一切努力向公众坦诚”自己的信仰和意图，并补充说，她“完全准备好承担后果”。

鲁尼的作品电子书也已在英国下架，但一些实体书店仍有售。

她创作了四部畅销小说，全球销量超过六百万册。