{"id":49660,"date":"2016-11-16T16:34:13","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T20:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=49660"},"modified":"2016-11-16T16:34:13","modified_gmt":"2016-11-16T20:34:13","slug":"10-asians-who-clashed-in-self-defence-with-white-extremists-in-rotherham-acquitted-by-courts-of-violent-disorder-charges-filed-by-south-yorkshire-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=49660","title":{"rendered":"10 Asians Who Clashed in Self-Defence with White Extremists in Rotherham Acquitted by Courts of Violent Disorder Charges Filed by South Yorkshire Police"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy<\/p>\n

Frances Perraudin <\/strong><\/p>\n

Campaigners have called for an inquiry into the actions of South Yorkshire police after 10 Asian men, who fought with far-right extremists after attending an anti-racism protest in Rotherham, were cleared of violent disorder.<\/p>\n

The verdict at Sheffield crown court was greeted by applause from the public gallery. The case had provoked a major campaign across South Yorkshire in support of the men , which was backed by the Orgreave and Hillsborough Truth and Justice campaigns.<\/p>\n

Using the slogan \u201cself-defence is no offence\u201d, campaigners staged rallies outside the court at various points during the six-week trial. They branded the men the Rotherham 12, a reference to the Bradford 12 , who were charged with terrorist offences after an anti-fascist march in 1981 in Bradford and later acquitted following a campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The 12 men, two of whom pleaded guilty at the start of the trial, were attending an anti-fascist demonstration organised by the group Unite Against Fascism in Rotherham on 5 September 2015, a month after the racist murder of 81-year-old Mushin Ahmed in the town.<\/p>\n

On the same day, the far-right group Britain First also staged a protest in the town and more than 800 police officers were deployed from across the UK to keep the two groups apart.<\/p>\n

A jury heard that it had been one of a long line of far-right demonstrations held in Rotherham in the aftermath of the child sex abuse scandals uncovered in 2012. A 2014 report by Prof Alexis Jay concluded that failures of political and police leadership had contributed to the sexual exploitation of 1,400 children by Asian men in the town over 16 years.<\/p>\n

Michael Mansfield QC, defending Asif Zaman and Arshad Khan, told the court the town had been besieged by toxic fascist groups and the air was filled with fear. \u201cThe fear was not a fantasy \u2013 it was a reality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there comes a point when people have to say to themselves, are we going to be humiliated to the extent that we won\u2019t leave our homes? And is it time to show our respect and solidarity for this elderly man who was stamped to death?\u201d<\/p>\n

The court heard that, after the demonstration, police channelled the anti-racism protesters down Rotherham\u2019s Wellgate road, past the William Fry pub, said to be a well-known hangout of the far right.<\/p>\n

Paul O\u2019Shea, prosecuting, said men outside the pub had shouted \u201cvile racist abuse\u201d at the Asian men as they passed . \u201cNot exactly original but certainly offensive,\u201d said O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n

The jury was played various pieces of CCTV footage that showed a clash between the two groups in the street outside the pub before the police arrived.<\/p>\n

The prosecution contended that while there was no doubt that \u201cthe other side\u201d in the clash \u2013 who will be prosecuted later this month \u2013 had acted first, the actions of the defendants could not be justified as self-defence.<\/p>\n

During the trial, the defence questioned South Yorkshire police\u2019s decision to send the men past the pub, described by Mansfield as a \u201cpub for thugs\u201d. Giving evidence, Ch Insp Richard Butterworth said he did not know the pub was associated with the far right.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody knew it, save for one person, save for, apparently, the silver commander,\u201d said Mansfield. \u201cI don\u2019t know what planet he\u2019s been on, but clearly he\u2019s not been on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The men \u2013 Asif Zaman, Mohammed Saleem, Arshad Khan, Abrar Javid, Imran Iqbal, Nasrum Rashid, Moshin Mahmood, Sadaqat Ali, Shaban Ditta and Akaash Nazir \u2013 shared tearful embraces with their families and friends outside the court following the verdict.<\/p>\n

Two other men, Haseeb Alam and Mahroof Sultan, had already pleaded guilty to violent disorder but will apply to change their plea in light of Wednesday\u2019s verdict.<\/p>\n

Reading a statement on behalf of the defendants outside court, Suresh Grover, director of the Monitoring Group, an anti-racism charity, said that apart from the actions of the far-right groups, their anger was reserved for South Yorkshire police and the Crown Prosecution Service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prosecution evidence clearly acknowledged that far-right groups were intent on sowing community divisions \u2026 It beggars belief knowing what the police knew that the defendants were ever arrested, let alone charged and put on trial,\u201d he said. \u201cInstead of protecting the real victims in this case, the police and the CPS turned against them. On that day they led them towards danger and left them unprotected.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic confidence in South Yorkshire police is at an all time low. It can only be gained if there is a rigorous independent inquiry into their conduct and behaviour and they begin to respect local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the defendants, Javid, a 38-year-old NHS project manager, told the Guardian that he had felt personally in danger as a result of the increase in far-right action in the town and that he had been provoked to attend the demonstration following the murder of Ahmed.<\/p>\n

He said he understood that policing big demonstrations was a \u201clogistical nightmare\u201d for the police, but that he and the 11 other men arrested on that day had been victims of political policing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that because the police had failed in terms of child sexual exploitation they were trying to make examples of a community \u2013 in whatever shape or form \u2013 and say : \u2018Look we\u2019re doing our job now. We\u2019re actually putting a few Asians away.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

His fellow defendant Saleem, a 44-year-old gas engineer, said he did not think that sending the anti-racism protesters past the Wellgate pub had been an innocent mistake .<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my own theories,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m right or not. I don\u2019t think it was just a cock-up. There are similarities with what the police did to the Orgreave miners, and how they herded them to a particular spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a bin thrown at me, punches thrown at me and I had literally done nothing. Now you imagine five weeks later, at six or seven in the morning, police officers, 10 of them, coming to your house. Your children are scared, you\u2019re scared, you\u2019re treated as some common criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the protest and arrests in September, the Muslim Community of Rotherham group called for a boycott of South Yorkshire police in the town. A subsequent report by the South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner, Alan Billings, into policing on that day urged a different approach to policing \u201ca small number of licensed premises in Rotherham with reputations for disorder and for far-right associations\u201d.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire police said: \u201cFollowing legal advice, we have taken the decision that it would not be appropriate to provide comment on the outcome of the trial given the fact there is a second trial due to be heard in the next few weeks arising out of the same incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is critical that the case is dealt with to finality and due legal process is followed and respected for all involved following the events of 5 September 2015.\u201d
\n
\nCourtesy:The Guardian<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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By Frances Perraudin Campaigners have called for an inquiry into the actions of South Yorkshire police after 10 Asian men, who fought with far-right extremists after attending an anti-racism protest in Rotherham, were cleared of violent disorder. The verdict at Sheffield crown court was greeted by applause from the public gallery. The case had provoked …<\/p>\n

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