Pro-Palestine protest leader pleads 'not guilty' after London arrest
A key organiser of the pro-Palestine march in Central London in January pleaded not guilty on Thursday to breaking protest restrictions after police arrested him.
Chris Nineham, 62, the Stop the War Coalition's vice-chair, appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court and pleaded not guilty to two counts of breaking the Public Order Act.
Ahead of Nineham's hearing, protesters gathered outside the court, condemning the police's decision to ban marchers from reaching the BBC.
Nineham, a veteran anti-war activist, serves as the chief steward for the national protest for Palestine and has played a leading role in organising pro-Palestine demonstrations in Central London.
During the hearing, District Judge Neeta Minhas dropped bail conditions that prohibited Nineham from attending protests organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
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In January, the London Metropolitan Police arrested Nineham after the police claimed some protesters had broken restrictions banning them from marching towards the headquarters of the BBC.
The police said 77 arrests were made during the protest, which organisers estimated drew 100,000 people.
Ben Jamal, director of the UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign, is also among those arrested. He is expected to appear before court later in February.
Egyptian-British actor Khalid Abdalla and British actor Juliet Stevenson were among the speakers who expressed support for Nineham outside the court.
Protest tensions
The arrests last month came after police imposed late restrictions on the protest after previously approving a route to the BBC proposed by organisers months in advance.
Organisers denied the Met's claim that protesters had forced their way through a police cordon after ending their protest in Whitehall.
A coalition of advocacy groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Muslim Association of Britain, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, the Stop the War Coalition, and Friends of Al-Aqsa, publicly announced the march's original route on 30 November.
Key restrictions imposed by the police included a ban on beginning the march outside the BBC, citing concerns about its proximity to a synagogue.
Demonstrators said they wanted to "protest against the pro-Israel bias" of the BBC's coverage of Gaza.
However, the Metropolitan Police altered the route after objections from pro-Israel groups, chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, and several MPs.
The coalition fought with the police over restrictions and routes, and many MPs, celebrities, and prominent figures condemned the restrictions.
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