Charges against Niyak Ghorbani, a dissident Iranian journalist living in the UK, were abandoned after video footage comprehensively undermined the prosecution’s case.
Ghorbani is recognisable from his attendance at London ‘pro-Palestinian’ marches with a “Hamas Is Terrorist” sign. Last September, he was arrested while holding the sign—despite it summarising the legal position of the British government, which made Hamas into a proscribed organisation.
That day then saw him ‘de-arrested’ and then arrested again, this time for allegedly assaulting two police officers who were on top of him during his arrest. Held in a cell until 4:00 a.m. the next morning, Ghorbani then faced a five-minute police interview under caution. Almost one year on, he finally went to trial at City of London Magistrates’ Court on charges of “assaulting emergency workers.”
On Wednesday, August 27th the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence for one of the alleged assaults. A second officer then told the court that Ghorbani had assaulted him, but this claim was collapsed after the screening of police footage.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which worked to clear Ghorbani’s name, stated
We are pleased that the charges—which should never have been brought—against Mr Ghorbani were eventually abandoned. We are proud to have supported Mr Ghorbani’s stand for justice and we will continue to support those who defend British Jews and defiantly stand up to the mob by calling Hamas and Hizballah exactly what they are: proscribed terrorist organisations.
