Pro-Palestine activists accused of harassing MP have convictions quashed

TWO pro-Palestinian activists found guilty of harassing a UK Government minister have had their convictions overturned.

- ELEANOR STOREY

Ayeshah Behit, 32, and Hiba Ahmed, 26, were found guilty of the charge against Alex Davies-Jones, the Labour MP for Pontypridd, at Cardiff Magistrates' Court in June.

The pair challenged the ruling, denying they harassed Ms Davies-Jones and arguing they were exercising their right to free speech at Cardiff Crown Court this week.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, Recorder of Cardiff, said the prosecutions were unnecessary and allowed both appeals on Wednesday.

Behit and Ahmed had filmed a confrontation with Ms Davies-Jones, who had been campaigning in the village of Treforest, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in the lead-up to the general election, on June 26 last year.

As she made her way to the campaign meeting place, she saw the pair with leaflets which suggested she was a “full-blown supporter of this genocide” - referring to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Later, Behit and Ahmed put posters on the Labour office in Pontypridd - the base of Ms Davies-Jones' campaign for the general election - that referred to politicians “enabling genocide”.

The court heard the pair also placed stickers reading “Alex Davies-Jones, how many murdered children is too many?” outside her office in Pontypridd.

Ms Davies-Jones told the court she was aware of what was on the leaflets and had initially approached the defendants to try to address and defuse the situation.