A woman who held a placard at a pro-Palestinian protest depicting former prime minister Rishi Sunak and ex-home secretary Suella Braverman has been accused of using “racially abusive” imagery, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday.
Marieha Hussain, 37, from High Wycombe, has pleaded not guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence over the placard, which allegedly showed Sunak and Braverman as coconuts. The placard was displayed during a protest on 11 November, as tensions surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict heightened.
Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan told the court that the term “coconut” is widely recognised as a racial slur. He explained, “It implies that someone may be ‘brown on the outside but white on the inside,’ essentially accusing them of being a race traitor.” Bryan argued that Hussain had crossed the line from political expression into racial insult, adding that the placard was likely to have caused “harassment, alarm, and distress” to those who saw it.
As the trial began, around 40 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the court in support of Hussain. The image of the placard, which was shown in court, featured cut-out pictures of Sunak and Braverman alongside coconuts under a tree.
Hussain’s defence, led by Rajiv Menon KC, countered that the placard was a form of political criticism, not a racial attack. Menon argued that the placard was aimed at condemning the politicians’ support for policies Hussain deemed racist, including Braverman’s rhetoric on immigration and the Rwanda deportation policy. “What she is saying is that Suella Braverman, as home secretary, was promoting a racist political agenda, and the prime minister was either complicit or inactive in addressing it,” Menon stated.
The court also heard from Metropolitan Police communications manager Chris Humphreys, who explained that images are flagged to the police if their social media accounts are tagged in posts.
The image of Hussain’s placard was shared by an X (formerly Twitter) account under the username Harry’s Place, which Menon described as “a secretive political blog based in Washington DC with a focus on opposing criticism of Israel.”
Humphreys confirmed his knowledge of the blog but noted it is an “anonymous political blog.”
The trial is ongoing.
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