THREE DENY CHARGE OVER HUT PROTEST

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury (but not on its website):

Three deny charge over hut protest

Three men have appeared in court over offences alleged to have taken place during protests against Muslim group As Salaam using a former scout hut in Thurnby Lodge.for prayers.

Since the summer, people have been holding regular demonstrations outside Thurnby Lodge Community Centre in Thurncourt Road, Leicester, opposing plans to let Muslim group As Salaam take over the nearby hut.

The demonstrations were heavily policed, and protesters were kept 100 metres away from the community centre, where As Salaam members held prayers.

On December 14, three men who all live on the Thurnby Lodge Estate - James Ellliott, Jeffrey Copeland and Lee Murren - were allged to have breached the order.

They appeared in Leicester Magistrates' Court yesterday, where all three pleaded not guilty to knowingly failing to comply with a condition imposed by a senior police officer under section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986.

The case was adjourned until April, when a two-day trial is due to take place.

Elliott (20) of Rona Gardens, Copeland (37), of Thurncourt Road, and Murren (47), of Lyminton Road, were released, were released on conditional bail.