THE POLICE watchdog has been asked to investigate claims officers had "ignored freedom of expression" by forcing the removal of pro-Palestinian photographs at an Edinburgh church following complaints they were anti-Semitic.

The move to force their removal has been described by the Network of Photographers for Palestine (NPP), which created the Edinburgh Festival Fringe exhibition, as "artistic censorship".

The exhibition placed on fencing outside the St John's Episcopal Church in Princes Street, Edinburgh was set up to mark the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a British government public statement made during World War I, to announce support for the establishment of a "national home" for the Jewish people in Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire.

But it also aims to highlight how the declaration laid the foundations for "the Zionist state of Israel as it is today" and how it affects the lives of millions of Palestinians.

It is known that Rev Markus Dünzkofer, rector of St. John's and a church manager were accused of racism by one individual over the exhibition.

The Herald:

One church official confirmed that police demanded they take down all 22 photographs but managed to negotiate to have only what was considered the more provocative images removed.

Now a complaint has been lodged with the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner after NPP accused officers of "censorship or artistic expression" by insisting on the removal of eleven pictures all of which they said had already appeared in the public domain.

The most graphic of the shots related to the killing of a disarmed Palestinian Abed al Fatah a-Sharif – who had been shot and incapacitated during a stabbing attack on an Israeli soldier at the West Bank city of Hebron last year. The soldier was convicted of manslaughter earlier this year.

The Herald:

A picture of the scene similar to this was taken down from the exhibition

Another withdrawn picture is of graffiti and features the slogan: "Gas The Arabs!".

Also not allowed was a photograph of an anti-Balfour demonstration, and features a boy taking a photograph.

A shot of a man who cannot bear to watch his house being "torn down by an Israel demolition mob" was also a no-no, as was a picture of a night raid in a Palestinian village.

A photograph, taken by Associated Press of an explosion in Gaza City, in 2014 was also removed.

Phil Chetwynd, secretary of NPP said the police ordered the removal of the photographs on Tuesday after a member of the public took exception to some of them accusing church staff of "racism and anti-semitism".

In his complaint, Mr Chetwynd said: "Many people may feel offended by a wide range of things in our country, but freedom of expression must be preserved at all cost in any democracy.

"In this instance, it seems that an emotional and vociferous complainant forced the two officers to attempt to defuse a situation by completely acceding her demands, thereby ignoring the higher principle of freedom of expression.

"I would therefore be grateful if you would investigate this incident, and clarify if Police Scotland considers itself to have any role in the censorship of artistic expression in Scotland, and if so, under what circumstances they would find it appropriate to exercise this role."

The exhibition organisers say the display was dedicated to the "many Palestinians who have suffered under the yoke of British and Israeli rule over the past 100 years".

Of the Balfour declaration, the exhibition says: "On the face of it the declaration seemed fair and even-handed enough, but its implication and manner of execution have echoed down the subsequent century paving the way for the brutality and oppression that pervades the land of Palestine today."

An NPP spokesman said: "It is outrageous that the police allow themselves to be used in this way to censor an exhibition on the Edinburgh Fringe. Our enquiries suggest that the complaint was made against just one picture depicting the murder of a Palestinian man by an Israeli soldier, and yet all the pictures of Israeli actions against Palestinians had to be taken down.

"Members of the general public protested at the pictures being taken down, asserting that the story contained in the exhibition should definitely be told in full.

"We are aware that some supporters of the State of Israel cannot bear to hear the Palestinian story being told.

"However, the Scottish police must not allow itself to be manipulated into colluding with this clear infringement on freedom of expression in Scotland."

Nobody at St John's Episcopal Church was available for comment.

Police Scotland were approached for comment, but did not respond.

PIRC said they have told NPP that the complaint must first be looked at by Police Scotland first before they can get involved.