An NHS doctor has appeared in court charged with inviting support for the proscribed organisation Hamas. Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, 31, of Pilning, South Gloucestershire, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday where she indicated not guilty pleas to four counts of inviting support for the group.
The court heard the charges relate to comments or material posted online. Prosecutor Carl Kelvin told the court the doctor is accused of writing “I don’t condemn Hamas. I don’t condemn October 7” and “I condemn the existence of Israel” in a post on July 23. On December 31, it is alleged she wrote “Free the world from Jewish supremacy”. On the second anniversary of the October 7 attack, she is accused of posting an image of a bulldozer with text reading “Glory to the Palestinian resistance”.
Dr Aladwan also indicated not guilty pleas for stirring up racial hatred using words or behaviour at a speech she allegedly made at a protest on July 21 in King Charles Street, Westminster, and stirring up racial hatred through the publishing and distributing of written material on November 19.
She was arrested at her home in Pilning on Thursday morning for allegedly breaching police bail conditions imposed after previous arrests. She was taken to a central London police station and charged with the six offences.
Dr Aladwan, who is British Palestinian, was released on conditional bail ahead of a next hearing on April 24 at the Old Bailey. She spoke only to confirm her identity and indicate her pleas. Before and during the hearing, more than a dozen protesters gathered outside the court waving Palestinian flags and carrying placards.
