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.
Public prosecutors had alleged that Cotte voiced support for Hamas two days after the group led the deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hamas was officially proscribed in its entirety by the UK government in late 2021, when its political wing was also banned. Its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, has been proscribed since 2001. Those found guilty of supporting such groups can face up to 14 years in prison.