Fury after leading anti-fascist activist Martin Smith found guilty by court

The right to protest against fascists was outrageously attacked on Tuesday when leading activist Martin Smith was found guilty of assaulting a police officer.

Martin is a national officer of Unite Against Fascism and also national coordinator of Love Music Hate Racism.

He was arrested on a protest outside the BBC in October 2009 when Nazi BNP leader Nick Griffin appeared on Question Time.

The magistrates believed a single police witness rather than Martin’s account of the day—which was backed up by extensive video footage.

However, the court did not jail Martin. Instead it sentenced him to 80 hours unpaid work, £100 payment to the police officer and £350 costs.

We cannot allow anti-fascist protest to be driven back or intimidated off the streets.

The Nazis and the racists should be under attack, not those who stand up to their poison.

The whole movement must rally round those targeted for fighting fascism.

Email messages of support to

supportmartin@uaf.org.uk Full coverage in this week's Socialist Worker