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Pro-Palestine protesters chanted outside the Old Bailey as a 21-year-old woman appeared in court accused of expressing support for Hamas in a speech at a London university. Student Sarah Cotte from Camden, north London, has denied two charges of expressing "an opinion or belief in support of a proscribed organisation".
On October 9 2023, prosecutors allege Cotte gave a speech at Soas University of London "being reckless" as to whether a person would be encouraged to support a proscribed organisation. Seven days later, she allegedly expressed support for Hamas by giving her opinion in a WhatsApp group chat.
Court appearance details
On Friday, Cotte appeared at the Old Bailey and sat in the well of the court for a hearing before the trial judge, Richard Marks KC. The judge set a further pre-trial hearing for October 24 2024 and granted Cotte continued conditional bail.
The defendant faces a 10-day trial at the Old Bailey from February 23 next year. The charges relate to alleged incidents that took place in October 2023 at the London university and in online communications.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
