Woman arrested after Palestine Action rally denies assault charges in court
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.
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.
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North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Woman arrested after Palestine Action rally denies assault charges in court
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. 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.
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Grandmothers arrested at Palestine protest ‘robustly deny any criminal offence'
Sue Pentel and Martine McCullough were arrested earlier this year by police investigating an incident of criminal damage at a Barclays Bank in the city. Ms Pentel, 72, was detained by officers along with Martine McCullough, aged in her 50s, on May 24 while protesting outside the bank in Castle Place over an incident at a previous protest at the bank on April 26. The two attended Musgrave Street police station in Belfast city centre on Wednesday morning for the pre-arranged interview under caution. Fellow campaigners staged a protest in solidarity with the women outside the station, with applause and calls of 'we're with you' as they arrived. Solicitor Padraig O Muirigh, who represents the two women, said they 'robustly deny that they have committed any criminal offence'. 'Our clients have been involved in peaceful protests against the ongoing genocide in Gaza which has been ongoing now for 628 days,' he said. 'Today's interviews under caution follow their arrests on the 24th May 2025. 'My clients robustly deny that they have committed any criminal offence and maintain that they should not be subjected to criminal investigations for exercising their right to peaceful protest against the atrocities being committed in Gaza.' He added: 'Our clients will robustly contest their innocence and defend their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights to freedom of assembly and expression if a decision is made to prosecute them.' Jewish grandmother Ms Pentel is a high-profile campaigner against Israel's military offensive on Gaza. Videos circulated online of the arrest of Ms Pentel indicate the alleged offence related to the placing of stickers on the bank's ATM machine. Barclays has been a target for pro-Palestine protesters who claim the bank is linked to companies supplying weapons to Israel. Barclays has previously addressed the criticism, saying it provides financial services to nine defence companies supplying Israel but does not directly invest in such firms. The bank has said it has become the target of a disinformation campaign over its ties to defence companies. Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Ms Pentel said they are 'proud to peacefully protest outside Barclays'. 'We've been doing it for the last eight months,' she said. 'To protest the genocide, to protest the violence, to protest the way that Israel feels its OK to starve children, to stop humanitarian aid while the world looks on. 'Well, we won't look on, we won't remain silent.' She added: 'We understand that we've been asked to be interviewed under caution, and we're voluntarily going in about an incident on April 26 and all we can say is we're proud to demonstrate with our amazing colleagues every week outside Barclays. 'We have the right to peacefully protest, we want to thank our solicitor Padraig O Muirigh for his time and advice. 'We have the right to peacefully protest and we will continue to do it until the genocide stops. 'We're two grandmothers, when our grandchildren ask us what we did, we know what we'll say, we stood up, we spoke out, we weren't silent, and as a Jewish person I am absolutely ashamed of anybody either Israeli Jewish or London Jewish or wherever who doesn't stand up and who thinks this is OK.'
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Seven Israeli soldiers killed in armoured vehicle blast in Gaza, says military
The attack on the Israeli troops, which occurred on Tuesday, was one of the deadliest for the army in Gaza in months, and quickly drew the nation's attention back to the grinding conflict with the Hamas militant group after nearly two weeks of war between Israel and Iran. Among the 79 reported killed in Gaza were 33 people who died while trying to access aid. Israel has been operating in Gaza since the Hamas militant group's October 7 2023 attack on Israel. US-led ceasefire efforts have repeatedly stalled. Brigadier General Effie Defrin, the army's chief spokesman, said the soldiers were attacked on Tuesday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where the army has operated on and off throughout much of the war. 'Helicopters and rescue forces were sent to the spot. They made attempts to rescue the fighters, but without success,' he said. The army said another soldier was seriously wounded in a separate incident in Khan Younis. It gave no further details, but Hamas claimed on its Telegram channel it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in the area. More than 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began with the October 7 2023 Hamas attack, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza. The initial Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and 251 others were taken hostage. Some 50 hostages remain in captivity, at least 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. The Israeli offensive has devastated Gaza and killed more than 56,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, a branch of the Hamas government. The death toll is by far the highest in any round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of the dead were women and children. The ministry said the dead include 5,759 who have been killed since Israel resumed fighting on March 18, shattering a two-month ceasefire. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, which operates in heavily populated areas. Israel says more than 20,000 Hamas militants have been killed, though it has provided no evidence to support that claim. Hamas has not commented on its casualties. Israeli forces shot and killed a 66-year-old Palestinian woman during a raid on Wednesday in east Jerusalem, her husband and a local Palestinian official said. Joudah Al-Obeidi, a 67-year-old resident of the neighbourhood's Shuafat refugee camp, said his wife Zahia Al-Obeidi was standing on the roof of their home when Israeli forces stormed the camp and shot her in the head. He said she had posed no threat. 'It is a crime,' he told The Associated Press. 'What danger did a sick 66-year-old woman pose to them?' Israeli police said they were investigating the incident, saying a woman had arrived at a military checkpoint with 'serious penetrating injuries' and was pronounced dead. They said Israeli forces fired at 'rioters' who threw rocks and heavy objects at them during the operation, with one officer admitted to hospital with a head injury from a large rock. Marouf Al-Refai, the Palestinian official, said Israeli forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp overnight, killing Ms al-Obeidi with a shot to the head at around 10pm local time and took her body away. Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Middle East war. It considers the area to be part of its capital – a move that is not internationally recognised. Palestinians want an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
