User:Recusant1/sandbox

Trials
In April 2010, Sheriff James Scott, in what lawyers hailed as a landmark judgment on human rights dismissed charges of racially-aggravated behaviour against five SPSC members arising out of an August 2008 Edinburgh Festival protest against the Jerusalem Quartet in the Queens Hall. SPSC publicity claimed the four musicians were cultural ambassadors for the State of Israel and shared a 1998 interview the Quartet had given to the World Zionist Press Service, which reported that "The Quartet now serves as Distinguished Musicians, performing for troops three times a week… For the three immigrants, carrying a rifle in one hand and a violin in the other is the ultimate Zionist statement."

Jonathan Mills, Director of the Edinburgh International Festival denied that the Jerusalem Quartet were linked to the Israeli Army, as did the Queens Hall executive, Adrian Harris, "I think to say they're affiliated to the Israeli Army is stretching a point."

The Quartet’s record label stated that “They now enjoy the status of Distinguished IDF [Israel Defence Force] musicians, playing for troops thrice weekly when the JSQ is in Israel.”

After a 21-month legal process, the prosecution claimed that it was racist to say the words “End the siege of Gaza” or “Genocide in Gaza” in any public place, including a public street. Sheriff Scott threw out the charges, saying that the protesters' comments had clearly been directed at the state of Israel and the Israeli army, and could not amount to racism because Israel was not a person and the quartet were not targeted as presumed citizens of Israel, but as presumed members of the Israeli army.

Sheriff Scott said: “It seemed to me, with respect, that the procurator fiscal’s attempts to squeeze malice and ill will out of the agreed facts were rather strained”. He added that human rights legislation would be worthless if people on a public march “designed to protest against a state and its army” were afraid to name the state for fear of being charged with racially aggravated behaviour. He produced laughter in court when he said: “Presumably their placards would have to read ‘genocide in an unspecified part of the Middle East’ or ‘boycott an unspecified state in the Middle East’.”

After the verdict, fiscal depute Graham Fraser said the Crown would be appealing the decision but did not do so.

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In 2011 the Scottish daily Scotsman criticised Lothian and Borders Police in an editorial headed “Half-hearted police apology unhelpful” three years after SPSC Chair Mick Napier was arrested and assaulted by police officers during a banner protest on an open-topped Edinburgh tour bus against the Israeli siege of Gaza. He was arrested under Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 and detained, but the procurator fiscal took no action against him.

Prof. John McNeill, Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland, rules that Mr Napier’s arrest had been unlawful and ordered Lothian and Borders Police to apologise for both the arrest and for failing to carry out a proper investigation of Napier’s complaint. It was the only one of 23 complaints against police to be upheld in that report; Prof McNeill said: “There can be no greater test of public confidence in the police than the way they exercise their power to detain and arrest citizens.”