Marieha Hussain denied prosecution’s allegation that placard held on pro-Palestinian protest was ‘racially abusive’

Marieha Hussain was acquitted of the charge on Friday

A pro-Palestinian protester who held a placard depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts has been found not guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence.

Marieha Hussain, 37, denied the prosecution’s allegation that the placard was “racially abusive”, and her trial at Westminster magistrates’ court heard that she “quite obviously does not have a racist bone in her body”.

Ms Hussain was acquitted of the charge on Friday, prompting claps and cheers from supporters in the public gallery.

Speaking outside the court after the hearing, she said: “The damage done to my reputation and image can never be undone. The laws on hate speech must serve to protect us more, but this trial shows that these rules are being weaponised to target ethnic minorities.

“It goes without saying that this ordeal has been agonising for my family and I. Instead of enjoying my pregnancy, I’ve been vilified by media, I’ve lost my career, I’ve been dragged through the court system.

“Nearly a year on from the genocide in Gaza, and despite this trial, I’m more determined than ever to continue using my voice to defend Palestine.”

The court was shown the sign, which had cut-out pictures of Mr Sunak and Mrs Braverman placed alongside coconuts under a tree

Clearing Ms Hussain, district judge Vanessa Lloyd said: “I find that it was part of the genre of political satire and, as such, the prosecution have not proved to the criminal standard that it was abusive.

“The prosecution has also not proved to the criminal standard that you were aware that your placard may be abusive.”

Giving evidence, Ms Hussain said the placard was a “light-hearted piece of political banter”, a way to depict something serious in “a British satirical way”.

In his closing speech, Rajiv Menon KC, defending, said: “That Marieha Hussain of all people is being prosecuted for a racially aggravated offence whilst the likes of Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – aka Tommy Robinson – and Frank Hester are seemingly free to make inflammatory and divisive statements … is, I’m afraid, incomprehensible to many people.”

Mr Menon called Ms Hussain a woman of “impeccable character”, adding: “She is a responsible and thoughtful citizen who genuinely cares about the plight of those less fortunate than her, who is prepared to exercise her democratic right to peaceful protest against injustice.

“We submit that she should not be criminalised for her satirical coconut placard. It would be a tragedy – I use that word advisedly – for her to be convicted of a racially aggravated offence when she quite obviously does not have a racist bone in her body.”

‘A gaping hole’

The court was previously shown an image of Ms Hussain holding the sign, which had cut-out pictures of Mr Sunak and Ms Braverman placed alongside coconuts under a tree, and heard expert opinion on whether the term “coconut” was a racial slur.

Jonathan Bryan, prosecuting, told the court: “We say that the placard was abusive, it was racially abusive. There were people present who were likely to have been caused harassment, alarm and distress by seeing what was on that placard.

“Coconut is a well-known racial slur, which has a very clear meaning. You may be brown on the outside, but you’re white on the inside. In other words, you’re a race traitor – you’re less brown or black than you should be.”

Mr Bryan said Ms Hussain had “crossed the line between legitimate political expression” and moved into “racial insult”.

Mr Menon said experts struggled to see how the term could be capable of being a slur without “some qualifying word, behaviour, context” that racialises it.

“There is, in short, a gaping hole as far as the prosecution’s evidential case against Marieha Hussain is concerned, and we say boldly that the Crown has not even come close to meeting its burden to the criminal standard,” he said.

‘It was a political criticism’

In a prepared statement read out to the court by the prosecution, Ms Hussain, of High Wycombe, said she had attended the pro-Palestinian protest on Nov 11 last year with her family.

She said the placard was in opposition to an “exceptional manifestation of hatred towards vulnerable or minority groups emanating from the home secretary and supported by the prime minister”, adding: “I find it astonishing it could be conceived as a message of hate.”

Mr Menon said previously that the “humorous and satirical” placard was “a pictorial attempt to criticise the policy of Rishi Sunak and, particularly, Suella Braverman and their race politics given what was happening at the time in the country”.

He told the court: “What she is saying is Suella Braverman – then home secretary, sacked two days after – was promoting in different ways a racist political agenda as evidenced by the Rwanda policy, the racist rhetoric she was using around small boats.

“And the prime minister was either quiescing to it or being inactive. It was a political criticism of these two particular politicians.”