The prosecution of six people who attended a vigil for murdered Sarah Everard has been dropped after months of criticism against the handling of the case by the police.
Ms Everard, 33, was abducted, raped and killed as she walked home from a friend’s house in London in March 2021. Her killer, Wayne Couzens, was a serving Metropolitan Police officer. He pleaded guilty to murder and is serving life in prison with no chance of parole.
A planned socially-distanced vigil in Ms Everard's memory had been banned by police because they said it would breach coronavirus restrictions, but hundreds gathered anyway on Clapham Common, near where she was abducted.
The Metropolitan police response to the vigil and the subsequent treatment of attendees led to a wave of criticism of the London police force and its attitude towards women’s safety.
Scuffles broke out when police officers tried to break up the vigil after several hours.
Footage showed women being handcuffed on the ground and led away by officers.
A total of nine fixed penalty notices were handed out by the Met after the vigil.
Six people were subsequently charged and faced possible fines of up to 10,000 ($12,100) for allegedly breaking Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time.
Organisers took the police force to court, and in February a judge ruled that police acted unlawfully when they used coronavirus restrictions to ban the vigil.
The six accused were due to stand trial in November. Several of them had already been convicted without their knowledge via a new fast-track system. They subsequently appealed against the decisions and secured full hearings.
On Sunday the Crown Prosecution Service said that cases against the six had been dropped because “our legal test for a prosecution was not met.”
Pippa Woodrow, a lawyer for some of the women, said she was delighted “that this ordeal is over and that the [prosecution service] has recognised they should never have been prosecuted.”
“It is to be hoped that the Met will now turn its focus and resources towards protecting women from violence rather than seeking to silence those who speak up against it, and towards rebuilding the trust damaged by their decisions in this case,” Ms Woodrow told The Observer newspaper.
One of the six, Dania Al Obeid, described the decision to drop her case as a “victory”.
She is now taking legal action against the Met over its policing of the vigil and conduct towards her.
Ms Everard's murder is one of many recent killings of women in the UK that have prompted calls for more protection for women and girls.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
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Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
RESULTS
2.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
2.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
3.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Inthar, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.45pm: Al Ain Stud Emirates Breeders Trophy – Conditions (PA) Dh50,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
4.25pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: JAP Aneed, Ray Dawson, Irfan Ellahi
4.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Edaraat, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
