Woman arrested after Palestine Action rally denies assault charges in court

South Wales Argus

5 days ago

Lavina Richards, 37, of Hackney, north-east London, appeared before a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday charged with two counts of assaulting a police constable in the execution of their duty.
Richards is accused of assaulting two Metropolitan Police officers at the Trafalgar Square march on Monday when several protesters clashed with police, resulting in 13 arrests for offences including assaulting an emergency worker, obstructing a constable and breaching Public Order Act conditions.
Richards, who appeared in the dock wearing a large black T-shirt, pleaded not guilty on both counts.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she has decided to proscribe Palestine Action (Gareth Fuller/PA)
District Judge Briony Clarke told her the case will be listed for trial at City of London Magistrates' Court on December 12.
She was granted bail until the trial date.
A handful of pro-Palestine activists stood outside the court waving a Palestinian flag, and sat in the public gallery during the hearing in support of Richards.
Another six people were charged following the rally, including Liam Mizrahi, 25, of no fixed address, who faces one count of a racially aggravated public order offence.
Eleanor Simmonds, 31, also of no fixed address, was charged with assaulting an emergency worker and was bailed to appear at Croydon Magistrates' Court on July 25.
Bipasha Tahsin, 21, of Pinchin Street, Tower Hamlets, was charged with assaulting an emergency worker. She was bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on July 8.
Matthew Holbrook, 59, of Somerhill Road, Hove, Tom Jubert, 40, of Chippendale Street, Hackney, and Hafeza Choudhury, 28, of Berkeley Path, Luton, were charged with breaching Public Order Act conditions and were bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on July 21.
The protest had initially been planned to take place outside the Houses of Parliament, but the location was changed early on Monday morning when Scotland Yard imposed an exclusion zone.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement on Monday afternoon that she has decided to proscribe Palestine Action and will lay an order before Parliament next week which, if passed, will make membership and support for the protest group illegal.
Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.