A protester called ex-home secretary Suella Braverman “Cruella Deville” and backed “armed resistance” in “the Holy Land” in a speech outside Downing Street days after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, a court has heard.
Urslaan Khan, 44, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of expressing support for the proscribed group in Whitehall, central London, on October 17, 2023.
On Wednesday, jurors viewed a video of Khan holding up an alleged pro-Hamas placard at the gates of the prime minister’s London residence on that day.
In the video, he said: “I support the physical force resistance in Palestine.
“Cruella Deville – sorry – Suella Fernandez Braverman, does not scare me or my brothers.
“I support armed resistance in Palestine. There’s lots of people talking about horrific things happening there, I’ll leave it for them to talk about it, we can all read the newspapers, read history books.
“But I support armed physical force resistance in the Holy Land.”
Opening the case against him, Diana Wilson told jurors: “The prosecution case is that by clearly referencing armed resistance in his speech whilst holding up a message that refers to both Hamas and resistance, the defendant directly linked his support to Hamas.
“The use of the placard while making his speech shows he was expressing support for Hamas, a proscribed organisation.
“It is relevant that the defendant’s actions occurred at a time when there is a heightened public tension in relation to the ongoing situation in the Israel/Gaza conflict.”
Wilson told jurors that the incident had followed co-ordinated terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel early on October 7, 2023.
They included launching missile attacks from the Gaza Strip and incursions into Israel during which a large number of civilians were killed and taken hostage, she said.
The day before the alleged offence, Khan was pictured in Whitehall holding up the placard purporting to quote a historian and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Jurors examined the sign which stated, “Hamas is the vanguard of the Resistance” on one side and “You won’t destroy Hamas” on the other.
The court heard Khan went on to post some of the images on his X account and in reply to posts on Braverman’s account, some of which were taken down.
On October 17, Khan allegedly returned to Whitehall and was caught on CCTV outside the gates of Downing Street at 11.30 am carrying the same placard and a megaphone.
He allegedly asked a passer-by to film him as he activated the siren on a megaphone and made the speech, which was played in court.
Police officers at the gate reported the incident, and Khan was stopped at 12.02 pm on Parliament Square.
When an officer pointed out the placard, Khan allegedly insisted that it was a “direct quote”.
He allegedly said: “I was born in Middlesborough, you’re a human being and I respect you… when I was outside New Scotland Yard the other day, it said that the public are the police, and the police are the public.”
When the officer explained that the sign could cause offence, Khan allegedly said: “I know there is 0 per cent chance of me going to jail for it and whether it reaches the CPS threshold, 1 per cent maybe?”
He went on to make a video at the Afghanistan War Memorial and made another speech before being arrested, the court heard.
Khan, of Poplar, east London, has denied the charge against him.
The Old Bailey trial was adjourned until Thursday.
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