Pro-Palestine activists accused of harassing Welsh Labour MP have convictions thrown out

Two pro-Palestinian activists found guilty of harassing a Welsh Labour MP and Government minister have had their convictions overturned.

Ayeshah Behit, 32, and Hiba Ahmed, 26, were found guilty of the charge against Alex Davies-Jones, the 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, the Recorder of Cardiff, said the prosecutions were not necessary and allowed both appeals during a hearing 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 they also placed stickers reading “Alex Davies-Jones how many murdered children is too many?” outside her office.

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.

Abstained

She said the defendants quizzed her on her voting record, with them asking why she had abstained on a ceasefire vote in the Commons.

Ms Davies-Jones told them she had not abstained and instead had been out of the country at the time.

After some discussion, she said she decided to end the conversation as it became “more aggressive” and “confrontational”.

“When we started walking away, they followed us and shouted at me down the street,” she said.

A video of the interaction played in court heard shouts of, “Alex Davies-Jones you support genocide” and “What do you think about children being tortured and murdered?” as the MP walked away.

“It was becoming quite scary,” she said.

“It was clear they weren’t listening and weren’t interested in what I had to say, it was worrying for myself and for the younger members of my team who had never seen anything like that before… I had never seen anything like that before.”

Ms Davies-Jones said the pair continued to follow her down the street, knocking on doors that canvassers had previously visited and could be heard loudly telling residents that she supported genocide.

An edited video of her interaction with the pair was later posted on social media, with suggestions that she is racist and Islamophobic.

Abuse

The MP said she still receives abuse on social media as a result of the video.

Ahmed, who has no previous convictions, was handed a 12-month conditional discharge in June.

Behit, who had a previous conviction relating to a protest in Cardiff last year, received an 18-month conditional discharge.

During the three-day appeal, representatives for the pair argued their actions were a reasonable exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and did not amount to harassment.

Francesca Cociani, for the appellants, said: “Alex Davies-Jones as an individual and as a political figure come as a whole.

“(But) she was never targeted in her capacity as an individual, it wasn’t at her home address that she was targeted.

“This was political speech… it was very clearly to do with Labour Party policy and decisions.

“It was not only in a public place but it was within her constituency… In the middle of a national campaign for the General Election.”

The court heard it was not uncommon for Labour MPs to be accused of supporting genocide and the conflict in Gaza was a matter of significant public debate in the run-up to the election.

Police warning

Judge Lloyd-Clarke said the actions of the appellants amounted to a “planned and well-orchestrated campaign” intended to harm the electoral prospects of Ms Davies-Jones.

However, she noted that “less intrusive” measures such as a police warning or civil action were not pursued prior to prosecution.

“Nothing in this judgment implies, or should be taken to imply, that there is any truth in the accusations made by the appellants about Ms Davies-Jones.

“We are not satisfied that a prosecution was necessary… the appeals of both defendants are allowed.”

Ms Cociani added: “This is a great day for justice and common sense.

“It was clear that my clients were exercising their freedom of speech during an election, as they were entitled to do, in our free and democratic country.

“Their arrest, prosecution and conviction for harassment were an egregious affront on those rights and they are delighted to have finally been exonerated.”