'Coconuts' trial: London protest arrest prompted by tweet by 'secretive' pro-Israel blog

The London Metropolitan Police has told a court that it has used “anonymous right-wing” accounts to police the pro-Palestine marches that take place in central London. 

Marieha Hussain, 37, pleaded not guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence on Thursday at the beginning of her two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates Court. 

Police charged Hussain after she held a placard depicting former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and then Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who are both British Asians, as coconuts during a pro-Palestine march in London.  

Chris Humphreys, a senior media and communications manager for the London Metropolitan Police, told a court on Thursday the police had used Harry’s Place and other accounts that post protest-related pictures to inform its policing of pro-Palestine marches. 

During proceedings, Humphreys explained his role within the Met's operations room in Lewisham and said he managed a team of three to four officers tasked with "responding to social media commentary" related to the protest.  

"Images come to our attention when the Met's own social media account has been tagged," Humphreys told the court. 

"Other ways images come to our attention is when accounts that frequently post protest-related images appear that warrant a potential investigation.

'Are you aware that Harry's Place is a secretive political blog headquartered in Washington DC that has a particular interest in opposing any criticism of the Israeli state?'

- Rajiv Menon, Marieha  Hussain's lawyer

"Or when images posted get a 'significant response' with a significant number of views." 

Humphreys said the Met typically posts a "holding response" acknowledging receipt of the reported image and that "any further outcome will appear later on".

Rajiv Menon, Hussain's lawyer, asked Humphreys about the role of Harry's Place and how it informed its policing decision to find Hussain and prosecute her for holding the coconut sign.

"Are you aware that Harry's Place is a secretive political blog headquartered in Washington DC that has a particular interest in opposing any criticism of the Israeli state?"

Humphrey responded to Menon and confirmed the Met had issued a holding response under Harry's Place's original post related to Hussain. 

He added, "Harry's Place is an anonymous political blog." 

'Racial slur' 

Opening the prosecution's case on Thursday, prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said the term "coconut" was a "well-known racial slur which has a very clear meaning".

"There were people present who were likely to have been caused harassment, alarm and distress by seeing what was on that placard," Bryan told the court.

"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."

Menon responded to the claim and said the placard was "not abusive" but a political criticism of former Prime Minister Sunak and Home Secretary Braverman.

"It 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. 

"There is nothing gratuitous or gross in any way about the placard. This placard was political speech."

District Judge Vanessa Lloyd also rejected the prosecution's request to cut down on the number of expert witnesses being called by the defence.

While proceedings were taking place, activists protested in support of Hussain outside the court. Between 30 and 40 people stood outside the court holding Palestine flags and chanting in support of Hussain. 

The trial continues.