Nadine Osman
The Metropolitan Police has admitted in court to using anonymous, right-wing, pro-Israel accounts to monitor pro-Palestine protests in London. The revelation came to light during the acquittal of a South Asian teacher, who had been accused of a racially aggravated public order offence for carrying a placard at a pro-Palestinian protest in London on November 11, 2023, depicting former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman as coconuts.
After the police issued a public notice to identify her, Marieha Hussain, 37, from High Wycombe, voluntarily went to the station on November 14, three days after the post.
Hussain was acquitted on September 13 after a two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where the judge deemed the placard to be “part of the genre of political satire.”
During cross-examination, Chris Humphreys, Senior Media and Communications Manager for Met, revealed that the police had used Harry’s Place, along with other accounts posting protest-related images, to guide their policing of the pro-Palestine marches. Humphreys also explained his role within the Met’s operations room in Lewisham, where he managed a team of three to four officers responsible for “responding to social media commentary” related to the protests.
“Other ways images come to our attention is when accounts that frequently post protest-related images appear that warrant a potential investigation.”
Rajiv Menon, Hussain’s lawyer, asked Humphreys about the role of Harry’s Place and how it informed its policing decision to find Hussain and prosecute her for holding the coconut sign.
“Are you aware that Harry’s Place is a secretive political blog headquartered in Washington, DC, that has a particular interest in opposing any criticism of the Israeli state?”
Humphrey responded to Menon and confirmed the Met had issued a holding response under Harry’s Place’s original post related to Hussain.
“Harry’s Place is an anonymous political blog,” Humphreys added.
In the ten months since that incident, anonymous social media accounts accused her of being racist, while tabloid newspapers revealed personal details about her family and the price of her parents’ home. Hussain also lost her job as a secondary school teacher.
After her quick acquittal, Hussain’s defence described the decision to bring the court case as a disturbing attack on the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest.
In a statement read to the court, she said the placard was in opposition to an “exceptional manifestation of hatred towards vulnerable or minority groups emanating from the home secretary and supported by the prime minister.”
An image on the other side of the placard depicted the former home secretary as “Cruella Braverman,” Hussain said in a statement, adding, “I find it astonishing it could be conceived as a message of hate.”
Menon KC, defending, said: “That Marieha Hussain of all people is being prosecuted for a racially aggravated offence whilst the likes of Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon—aka Tommy Robinson—and Frank Hester are seemingly free to make inflammatory and divisive statements… is, I’m afraid, incomprehensible to many people.”
Menon said Hussain was a woman of “impeccable character,” adding, “It would be a tragedy—I use that word advisedly—for her to be convicted of a racially aggravated offence when she quite obviously does not have a racist bone in her body.”
He told the court the placard was “a pictorial attempt” at “political criticism” of Sunak and Braverman.
District Judge Vanessa Lloyd said: “As such, the prosecution has 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.”
CAGE International said the case remains a stark reminder of the ongoing injustices many face in speaking out against the UK’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Naila Ahmed, Head of Campaigns at CAGE International, said:
“It’s scandalous that a heavily pregnant mother ever needed to stand trial for expressing a political opinion. This prosecution has been vindictive from the very start. It will be a huge relief for Marieha and her family that this ordeal is now over and she can put all this behind her. The state is increasingly exploring insidious ways to prosecute activists, especially those taking action for Palestine. We hope today’s verdict puts a stop to these sorts of politicised prosecutions and especially leads to the dropping of charges against CAGE 6, who are accused of the exact same alleged offence. However, we will not be silenced in exposing the war crimes and genocide being committed by the apartheid Israeli state—Palestine will be free.”
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