A Buckinghamshire teacher has been cleared of a racially-aggravated public order offence after displaying a placard featuring coconuts at a London pro-Palestine rally.
Marieha Hussain, 37, of High Wycombe, was accused of a racially-aggravated offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. She was cleared following a trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, 13th September 2024.
However, the nine-month pregnant teacher has already been dismissed from her employment as a result of the charge against her.
Had she been convicted, the maximum penalty for this offence is a fine at level 4 (£2,500). The standard section 5 offence has a maximum penalty of a fine at level 3 (£1,000).
Ms Hussain attended a pro-Palestine rally in the capital on Saturday, 11th November 2023.
She was carrying a placard showing fallen coconuts beneath a tree. Superimposed onto the fallen coconuts were the faces of then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and then Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Footage of the placard went viral on social media, which resulted in a Metropolitan Police investigation into the incident.
Ms Hussain denied the offence on the basis that she was exercising her freedom of expression in a politically satirical manner.
The Crown argued that the depiction of two non-white politicians as coconuts was an abusive racial slur that crossed the line into criminality.
During the trial Jonathan Bryan, prosecuting, said that the term "coconut" was a "well-known racial slur which has a very clear meaning".
He went on to elaborate: "You may be brown on the outside, but you're white on the inside. In other words, you're a race traitor - you're less brown or black than you should be."
The Crown did not put forward any evidence suggesting that a person had actually been caused harassment, alarm or distress as a result of Ms Hussain's placard (although technically speaking, an offence can be committed if that was a likely possibility).
Rajiv Menon KC, for Ms Hussain, described her prosecution as "a disturbing attack on the right of freedom of expression".
He added that his client was of "impeccable character" and "did not have a racist bone in her body".
"She should not be criminalised for her satirical coconut placard", he concluded.
District Judge Vanessa Lloyd was in agreement.
Clearing Ms Hussain, DJ Lloyd said: "I find that it was part of the genre of political satire and, as such, the prosecution have not proved to the criminal standard that it was abusive.
"The prosecution has also not proved to the criminal standard that you were aware that your placard may be abusive."
Another meritless case before the court. The bar between legitimate freedom of expression and criminality is quite rightly a very high one - although, some would say, it is getting progressively lower. The circumstances in this case came nowhere near.
Had Ms Hussain's video not gone viral the hurt-feelings police wouldn't have batted an eyelid at her placard.
No comments:
Post a Comment