Case against Occupy Cardiff protesters discontinued

16/03/2012

The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that the case against two protesters arrested and charged at the Occupy Cardiff demonstration in November 2011 has been discontinued.

Naheed Hussain, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Cymru-Wales, said: "When the Crown Prosecution Service receives files of evidence from the police in relation to a potential criminal case, they are reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which is the guidance our lawyers follow.

"The Code requires that for a prosecution to continue, there must be sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. A prosecution must also be deemed to be in the public interest.

"In this case, our review concluded that sufficient evidence does exist to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction for the offence charged. The persons occupying the land had been given reasonable opportunity to comply with a direction to leave and there is some evidence of damage to the site.

"However, we concluded that a prosecution in this case is not in the public interest.

"In reaching this decision, we have taken into account recent guidance issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to prosecuting public protest cases. We concluded that in the circumstances of this case, a prosecution is neither necessary nor proportionate, particularly in light of the fact that a court hearing the case would be highly likely to impose a nominal penalty in the event of a conviction.

"All interested parties have been informed of our decision."