Marieha Hussain was at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in 2023 with her family and marched for three hours before her family got tired. They opened some snacks to keep them going when someone from her side of the street asked to take a picture of her placard. The placard contained a cartoon of Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, dressed like Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians. Someone called out, “No, not that one, can you turn it around please?” so Ms Hussain turned the placard around. This request was the start of a legal battle for Ms Hussain as she stood trial for a racially aggravated public order offence, of which she was eventually found not guilty on Friday.
The trial was focused on the term “coconut” and whether it was racially abusive. Ms Hussain’s placard had a picture of a palm tree with coconuts, and on two of the coconuts, the faces of the Home Secretary and the then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan argued that coconut was a well-known racial slur with “a very clear meaning – you may be brown on the outside, but you are white on the inside. In other words, you’re a ‘race traitor.’ You’re less brown or black than you should be.” He claimed that Ms Hussain had crossed the line from legitimate political expression to racial insult.
The word “coconut” is known to people from black and Asian communities in the UK and can vary from light-hearted banter to more severe criticism or insults. Ms Hussain argued that her use of the term was a form of political critique against politicians pushing racist policies, but the prosecution argued that the placard was abusive. During the case, two academic experts in racism, Prof Gus John and Prof Gargi Bhattacharyya, gave evidence in support of Ms Hussain. They quoted postcolonial theorist Frantz Fanon, Black liberation activist Marcus Garvey, poet Benjamin Zephaniah, and comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who has frequently joked that his mum calls him a coconut for not speaking Tamil. However, the prosecution failed to bring any experts to support their case.
On Friday, District Judge Vanessa Lloyd ruled that the placard was “part of the genre of political satire,” and the prosecution had not proved to a criminal standard that it was abusive. The public gallery erupted in cheers and whooping as Ms Hussain burst into tears. The case has attracted support from activists and campaigners, with copycat “coconut” placards appearing at Ms Hussain’s first court appearance. Ms Hussain was thankful for the verdict, but she noted that “the damage done to my reputation and image can never be undone.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
