PROTESTERS gathered outside the Old Bailey today as the jury began deliberating in the trial of 22-year-old pro-Palestine activist Sarah Cotte.

Supporters from the Defend the Soas 2 campaign held up a banner reading: “Defend the right to protest for Palestine — Drop charges now!” and waved Palestine flags.

Ms Cotte, a former student at the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas), faces two counts under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for a speech she gave at the university in October 2023 on the right of the Palestinian people to armed self-defence.

The prosecution followed a complaint by UK Lawyers for Israel, leading to a police raid on her home in January 2024.

In her closing remarks on Friday, defence barrister Margo Munro Kerr reminded the jury that Ms Cotte’s speech was completely legal and that protecting solidarity with Palestine is “an absolute necessity in a democratic society.”

During the week-long hearing, many individuals and organisations have joined the protest outside the court.

Supporters have also stood shoulder to shoulder with the “Filton 8” defendants, who are currently undergoing their own trial at the Old Bailey.

A Defend the Soas 2 spokesperson said: “This trial has never been about justice; it is about intimidation.

“The Terrorism Act 2000 is being deployed by a zionist-supporting Labour government precisely as it was intended: to systematically criminalise anti-imperialists and silence solidarity with liberation movements.

“While Israeli war criminals enter Britain fresh from committing genocide in Gaza without a glance from the police, a young woman is dragged through the courts for speaking the truth.

“Sarah did not break under the prosecution’s pressure, and neither will we.”