Sarah Everard protesters are fined £220 each for breaking Covid laws by attending vigil for marketing executive who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by PC Wayne Couzens
- Hundreds gathered at event in Clapham Common, south-west London last year
- It was marred by clashes which saw protesters bundled to ground and arrested
- Now three people who attended have been fined £220 for breaching Covid rules
- One of the protesters, Dania Al-Obeid, branded the fine as being ‘simply not fair’
Three people have been fined £220 each for breaking Covid laws by attending a vigil for murdered marketing executive Sarah Everard.
The trio were part of a crowd of hundreds of people who spontaneously gathered on Clapham Common in south London on March 13, 2021, after Miss Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Met cop Wayne Couzens.
A demonstration had originally been planned by Reclaim These Streets, but this was cancelled when organisers were threatened with fines of £10,000 by the Metropolitan Police.
Instead, people turned up throughout the day, as did he Duchess of Cambridge who arrived to pay her respects.
Multiple people were arrested in the evening when police were given the order to break up the vigil, with the Met being heavily criticised for its response.
People clash with police during the vigil for Sarah Everard in Clapham Common on March 13, 2021, after she was raped and murdered by Met cop Wayne Couzens
Last week it was confirmed that police were prosecuting six people who were at the vigil for allegedly breaking Covid laws under the Single Justice Procedure, a paper-based process not held in open court.
And on Tuesday it was revealed unrepentant Met cops justified the arrests by claiming the gathering had become an ‘anti-police protest’ and they felt ‘distress’.
Now three of those who were charged have been fined £220 each for their involvement in the vigil, with three more cases set to be heard next week.
Dania Al-Obeid, 27, from Stratford, east London, Vivien Hohmann, 20, from Clapham, Ben Wheeler, 21, from Kennington, south London, and Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, from Manchester, were all named on the court papers last week.
Dania Al-Obeid (pictured) was one of three people fined for breaking lockdown rules at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week
They have now been convicted in their absence at the behind-closed-doors hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday, with each fined £220 and ordered to pay £100 in court costs and a £34 victim surcharge, with 28 days to pay.
They were all accused of participating in a gathering at Clapham Common Bandstand on March 13 2021 of more than two people in a public outdoor place when London was under Tier 4 restrictions.
A case management hearing has been scheduled for Vivien Hohmann, 20, from Clapham, later this month, while Jade Spence, 33, of Lambeth, south London, and Jenny Edmunds, 32, of Lewisham, south-east London, are due to be dealt with next Wednesday.
Kevin Godin-Prior (pictured) is one of three people who have been fined so far
A total of nine fixed penalty notices were issued. Two were paid, and the other was dropped with no further action.
Marketing manager Ms Al-Obeid, who is taking legal advice over the fine, told the PA news agency last week: ‘This isn’t about the £200, I’ve had people come forward and offer to pay this. It’s about what this fine represents.
‘I’ve requested any updates regarding the fine to be made via email as I’m not in the country; however the first I hear of this charge is via the media.
‘It’s been dealt with so poorly from start to finish and I’m just expected to roll over and accept this treatment. I’m considering fighting this as it’s simply not fair.’
The Met said all six cases have been brought to court because the fines issued for alleged breaches of Covid rules were not paid, with a total of nine fixed penalty notices issued. Two were paid, and the other was dropped with no further action.
In a police witness statement submitted to the court, officers said Ms Al-Obeid was one of four women who had linked arms at the edge of the bandstand and that she was arrested after repeatedly ignoring police directions to leave.
PC Darryl Mayne said: ‘I had witnessed Al-Obeid shout aggressive chants regarding officers being ‘Murderers’. However, I was unsure whether she was going to physically assault officers once she had realised officers were detaining her.
‘I was fully aware of the seriousness and sensitively of the situation and the reasoning for the gathering.
‘However, I informed Al-Obeid that I also had to uphold my duty as a serving constable to maintain public health.’
The Met has already faced criticism of the way it dealt with the vigil and its aftermath.
Sarah Everard (pictured) was kidnapped, raped and murdered by serving officer Wayne Couzens
Hundreds gathered at the event in Clapham Common, in south-west London, last March to pay their respects to 33-year-old Ms Everard, who was killed after disappearing while walking home
A report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services concluded that police ‘acted appropriately’ when dealing with the event, but also found it was a ‘public relations disaster’ and described some statements made by members of the force as ‘tone deaf’.
Earlier this year, the High Court ruled the Met had breached the rights of organisers at the vigil, but the unrepentant force refused to apologise over its much criticised handling, instead insisting it could appeal.
An utterly damning judgement said the constabulary ‘failed to perform its legal duty’ and did not think if the organisers ‘might have a reasonable excuse for holding the gathering’.
The ruling added the Met did not even ‘conduct the fact-specific proportionality assessment required in order to perform that duty’.
Scotland Yard was refused permission to appeal against the ruling for a second time.
Dismissing the appeal bid, Lord Justice Holroyde said in a court order that, while he recognised the application of principles guiding the right to protest ‘may be difficult for the police, and that the difficulty may be increased when considering a prospective event’ they were ‘clear’ and no separate guidance is needed.
The judge said he could see ‘no arguable basis on which it can be said that the (High) Court’s decision was wrong’.
Couzens, 49, is serving a whole-life sentence after admitting Ms Everard’s kidnap, rape and murder.
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