Police to question ‘The Crown’ actor over pro-Palestinian rally
LONDON — The British actor who played Princess Diana’s love interest in the Netflix series “The Crown” said he had been summoned for questioning by police after he attended a pro-Palestinian rally in central London.
Khalid Abdalla, who played Dodi Fayed in the popular show, said in a statement posted to his social media channels that London’s Metropolitan Police Service had sent him a letter requesting he attend “a formal interview,” in relation to “the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign protest” Jan. 18.
“It remains to be seen if this will result in charges,” added Abdalla, who also starred in “United 93” and “The Day of the Jackal.” He added that the right to protest was “under attack” in the the United Kingdom.
Abdalla was among tens of thousands of people who attended the demonstration, which was held the day after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the war in the Gaza Strip, which has claimed the lives of more than 48,000 people, according to health officials in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel launched its military campaign after the Hamas terrorist attacks Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed to NBC News via email that it had arrested 77 people on suspicion of breaching protest conditions after some of them broke through a police line that day. It added that 21 people had been charged so far.
As part of the “ongoing investigation,” the force said it had “invited a further eight people to be interviewed under caution at a police station.” British police typically do not confirm the identity of anyone under investigation.
Abdalla, 44, has attended several pro-Palestinian rallies in the past and has publicly called for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Addressing the crowds at the Jan. 18 rally, Abdalla said, “Tomorrow phase one of this 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.”
In February, he was one of the signatories to an open letter written to the BBC by the advocacy group, Artists for Palestine UK, which criticized the broadcaster for pulling a documentary on Gaza’s children.
The Palestine Coalition, the activist group that organized the rally, condemned the letter sent to Abdalla in a statement issued Monday, accusing police of carrying out an “apparently coordinated attack against the Palestine solidarity movement.”
The force, it said, was “endeavoring to halt public protest on the issue through harassment of those involved in the movement, and through increasingly draconian restrictions on demonstrations.”
