Prosecutors have sensationally blocked the Met Police’s ‘absurd’ attempts to go after those who attended Sarah Everard’s memorial.
Following the cancellation of a vigil planned by the new campaign organization Reclaim These Streets due to threats of £10,000 penalties, a spontaneous vigil at Clapham Common drew hundreds of demonstrators throughout the day, including the Duchess of Cambridge.
Six protestors, including Dania Al-Obeid and Jeni Edmunds, were accused of breaking Covid guidelines by attending the vigil, but the public chastised the Met for their ‘absurd and harmful’ efforts to punish these people.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) alerted attorneys last week that police efforts to criminalize the six people who attended the March 13 vigil last year will be ‘discontinued’ because it was not in the public interest, according to The Guardian.
The extremely crucial win comes as a shock to new Commissioner Mark Rowley, whose force remained steadfast in pursuing the ladies campaigning for women’s safety after Everard was killed by a serving Met officer, Wayne Couzens.
Couzens, 49, kidnapped Everard on her way home in south London, but the former disgraced police now faces life in prison for transporting the 33-year-old woman out of the city, where she was raped and killed.
Couzens feigned to enforce Covid restrictions in order to lure Everard into his car.
Dania Al-Obeid, who was detained and arrested during the rally, notified the Met that she will file a formal complaint about how the event was policed, particularly her treatment.
‘This is a success in and of itself, but it does not hold the Met responsible for their conduct during the vigil or for its choice to criminalize me and others for standing up and speaking out over a year later,’ she added.
Jeni Edmunds, another of the six people targeted, was pleased with the result but questioned the Met’s misuse of authority.
‘It speaks volumes that police used the same force that was exploited to push Sarah Everard to her murder to arrest mourners at her memorial,’ she added.
Ms Edmunds, who works for the legal charity Inquest, said she came to the vigil in reaction to Met officers’ treatment of slain sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, as well as Sarah Reed, who committed suicide after being assaulted by police. ‘We recognise how essential it was for people to commemorate Sarah Everard and vent their indignation,’ said Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe of the Met in reaction to the prosecutors withdrawing their efforts to criminalize demonstrators.
Wayne Couzens, a disgraced former Met officer, was sentenced to life in prison.
Wayne Couzens, a disgraced former Met officer, was sentenced to life in prison.
‘Officers took their responsibilities to protect the public and balance it with individual liberties extremely seriously throughout the epidemic.
‘The choice to prosecute in these situations is completely up to the CPS.’
Ms Al-Obeid, 27, of Stratford in east London, Vivien Hohmann, 20, of Clapham, Ben Wheeler, 21, of Kennington in south London, and Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, of Manchester were all found guilty behind closed doors under the Single Justice Procedure.
Unrepentant Met policemen defended the arrests by stating the gathering had devolved into a ‘anti-police rally’ and that they were in ‘distress.’
Ms Al-Obeid, a marketing manager, was ‘devastated’ after being convicted behind closed doors since she didn’t think she could even challenge it.
She was scheduled to stand trial until the CPS reversed its decision, claiming that she and the others had not been given a platform to plead not guilty. The Met was strongly chastised for breaking up gatherings and detaining demonstrators on Clapham Common as they stomped on memorial flowers.
‘As I say, I’m thrilled for my clients, but there’s a lesson here,’ said Pippa Woodrow, lawyer representing Ms Al-Obeid and Ms Edmunds, on social media. Protest is necessary for our democracy and beliefs. These instances demonstrate what occurs when we lose sight of it. Powers used to quiet people we dislike may now be used to silence those we like.’
The barrister believes that the Met will now devote its resources to safeguarding women from assault rather than seeking to suppress those who speak out against it.
More than a year after the vigil, the high court determines that Scotland Yard failed to examine the human right to free expression. It also emphasized how Covid rules were misconstrued at the time.
However, this did not prevent the Met from attempting to prosecute the six demonstrators.
Ms Al-Obeid has raised £6,000 in order to take on the force and launch legal action against them, following in the footsteps of Patsy Stephenson, who was famously photographed being handcuffed and held down by officers at the same vigil, despite the fact that she was not one of the six people sought by the Met.