Four people who attended a vigil for Sarah Everard are being prosecuted for allegedly breaking Covid lockdown rules.
Hundreds gathered on Clapham Common in south London on 13 March last year to honour the 33 year-old marketing executive who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens.
The unofficial event, which saw clashes between some police officers and attendees, took place after an official event organised by Reclaim These Streets was cancelled.
The Met has since charged four people with breaching lockdown rules by attending a gathering in London while the city was under Tier 4 lockdown restrictions.
Dania Al-Obeid, 27, from Stratford, east London, Vivien Hohmann, 20, from Clapham, Ben Wheeler, 21, from Kennington, south London, and Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, from Manchester, are being prosecuted by the Met over their attendance at the vigil, court papers said.
They are all accused of participating in a gathering on March 13 2021 at Clapham Common Bandstand of more than two people in a public outdoor place when London was under Tier 4 restrictions.
Their cases are due to be dealt with at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday under the single justice procedure, which cannot be observed by the public.
Following the vigil, Ms Al-Obeid told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she was arrested for breaching Covid-19 regulations.
“I understood police on the ground were following orders,” she said. “When I did get arrested and spoke to them, and when I was handcuffed in the van, they understood our position. They were just following orders.
“I think that’s where the frustration was; the bigger picture here was lost. We felt we were silenced and this could have been avoided if there was some understanding and compassion to the trauma that women feel every single day.”
It comes a day after the Met was for a second time refused an appeal against a High Court ruling which concluded the force breached the rights of four Reclaim These Streets organisers.
The Met’s policing of the vigil for Ms Everard was heavily criticised after women were handcuffed on the ground and led away by officers.
A report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services concluded police “acted appropriately” when dealing with the event.
But it also found it was a “public relations disaster” and described some statements made by members of the force as “tone deaf”.
Couzens, 49, is serving a whole-life sentence after admitting Ms Everard‘s kidnap, rape and murder.
