Boy, 16, among five charged after pro-Palestinian protest in London
Five people have been charged with public order offences after 100,000 people took to the streets of London calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Nine people were arrested during the mostly peaceful demonstration on Saturday.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Five people arrested during protests in central London on Saturday have been charged. More than 1,000 officers were on duty as part of the policing operation.
“Nine people were arrested on Saturday, two on suspicion of assaulting police officers and seven for public order offences.
“A further two people were arrested on Sunday morning on suspicion of inciting racial hatred. Their arrests followed a public appeal about an incident in Trafalgar Square on Saturday evening.”
Kadirul Islam, 33, of no fixed address, was charged in relation to alleged racist abuse being shouted in Waterloo Road.
He will appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on 1 December charged with a racially aggravated public order offence (Section 5 Public Order Act).
Emma Turvey, 51, of Clarence Road, Grays, Essex, was charged with a public order offence (Section 4A Public Order Act) in relation to an alleged incident in Whitehall where a can of beer was thrown at a protester.
She will appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 13 November.
Atif Sharif, 41, of Albert Road, Walthamstow, east London, was charged with causing actual bodily harm after an officer was allegedly assaulted and suffered a head injury.
He was remanded in custody to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Laura Davis, 22, of Hendon Way, Barnet, north London, has been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence (Section 5 Public Order Act) in connection with an allegation that a placard that was “threatening and racist in nature” was displayed in Piccadilly Circus.
She will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 29 November.
The spokesman said that a second person who was arrested in the vicinity of Piccadilly Circus for a racially aggravated public order offence, also relating to a placard, was released with no further action to be taken following a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The fifth person charged is a 16-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who faces a public order offence (Section 5 Public Order Act) for alleged verbal abuse directed at police escorting the protesters.
He will appear at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on 15 November.