UK court clears woman of voicing support for Hamas in university speech

Sarah Cotte said her comments were not in support of Hamas, but in support of Palestinians’ right to resist.A London court has cleared a British woman of supporting Palestinian group Hamas in a speech she gave outside her university in 2023.The jury at the Central Criminal Court, more commonly known as the Old Bailey, on Friday found Sarah Cotte, 22, not guilty of expressing support for the group that’s designated a “terrorist” organisation under UK law.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Andy Burnham apology for Labour stance on Gaza: Is UK’s position shifting?list 2 of 3The British state has recast protest as terrorismlist 3 of 3UK charities, protest groups: Israeli ban threat ‘will not intimidate us’end of listPublic prosecutors had alleged that Cotte voiced support for Hamas two days after the group led the deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.During a speech she gave outside the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London at the time, she expressed “unconditional solidarity” with the Palestinian resistance, the court was told. Prosecutors claimed this was a “thinly veiled reference” to Hamas.Cotte repeatedly rejected attempts to equate the two, tel...