Court says Iraq protest is a crime
Sam Jones
Thursday December 8, 2005
The Guardian
A peace campaigner who stood outside Downing Street reading a list of the British soldiers killed in Iraq was convicted yesterday under a controversial new law which bans unauthorised demonstrations within one kilometre of Westminster.
Maya Anne Evans, 25, was found guilty of breaching section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, following a three-hour trial at Bow Street magistrates' court in London. She was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 towards costs.
Evans, a vegan cook from Hastings, Sussex, was arrested on October 25 as she stood next to the Cenotaph in Whitehall and read out the names. A fellow campaigner, who was reading out the names of dead Iraqi civilians, was also arrested. The court heard that the two conducted a peaceful "remembrance ceremony" and had intended to ring a bell for each of the names read out.
Evans spent five hours in Charing Cross police station before being charged. She said yesterday that she wanted to appeal against her conviction but was willing to venture back into the exclusion zone even if it meant going to prison.
Evans, who has no previous convictions, said: "I think I got the minimum sentence but I still feel aggrieved that I have been found guilty."
Her solicitor argued that the prosecution breached the Human Rights Act.
Link Here
Thursday December 8, 2005
The Guardian
A peace campaigner who stood outside Downing Street reading a list of the British soldiers killed in Iraq was convicted yesterday under a controversial new law which bans unauthorised demonstrations within one kilometre of Westminster.
Maya Anne Evans, 25, was found guilty of breaching section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, following a three-hour trial at Bow Street magistrates' court in London. She was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 towards costs.
Evans, a vegan cook from Hastings, Sussex, was arrested on October 25 as she stood next to the Cenotaph in Whitehall and read out the names. A fellow campaigner, who was reading out the names of dead Iraqi civilians, was also arrested. The court heard that the two conducted a peaceful "remembrance ceremony" and had intended to ring a bell for each of the names read out.
Evans spent five hours in Charing Cross police station before being charged. She said yesterday that she wanted to appeal against her conviction but was willing to venture back into the exclusion zone even if it meant going to prison.
Evans, who has no previous convictions, said: "I think I got the minimum sentence but I still feel aggrieved that I have been found guilty."
Her solicitor argued that the prosecution breached the Human Rights Act.
Link Here
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