Bail conditions are lifted for members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light accused of obstruction
A court session in Cheshire offered a development that many observers had been waiting for, as the group of residents from the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light returned before the magistrates with a clearer legal horizon and a calmer atmosphere inside the courtroom than the one that surrounded the dramatic raids of April.
The hearings concerned twenty‑four members of the community who had been charged with public order offenses connected to the massive police operation of 29 April, when more than five hundred officers entered three locations linked to the movement. The prosecution described scenes of resistance inside Webb House, the former orphanage that serves as the community’s headquarters. It claimed that some residents linked arms in corridors, that Dareem Charles kicked at police shields, that Marc Ferreira grabbed an officer during an arrest, and that Ramazan Demirovic pushed through a doorway and struck an officer in the face. Another defendant, Laure Delogne, was said to have hidden in a bush when officers arrived. These were the allegations presented in court, and each defendant entered a not-guilty plea.
The list of those who appeared before the judge included Jahmeel Musa, Onur Aydin, Myrah Hashem, Dareem Charles, Hussein Khadum, Marc Ferreira, Gustavo Ruiz‑Quinteros, Laure Delogne, Sarah Batul, Ramazan Demirovic, Rad El‑Kanami, Soufiane Ben Abdeslam, Diniy Sisyam, Maryam Marfoug, Hatem Sider, Ahmed Elhaouss, Mohammed Hiary, Tahani Hashem, Aun Haider, Alireza Haghighi, Raimah Batul, Mammadagha Abdullayer, Taymour Elalfy, and Mohammed Ayob. All were granted unconditional bail by District Judge Ian Barnes, who scheduled case‑management hearings for 29 September and trials for April 2027. The unconditional nature of the bail marked a significant shift from the earlier phase of the investigation, when several community members had been subjected to restrictive conditions, including exclusion zones and passport surrender. Those conditions have now been lifted, a development welcomed by the defendants and their supporters.
Outside the courthouse, the atmosphere was less serene. A small group of hostile protesters gathered near the entrance, wearing shirts with the slogan “White Lives Matter.” Two of them assaulted members of the AROPL community by head-butting, tripping, pushing them, pulling off their hats, and shouting insults. Police intervened quickly and arrested two attackers, with a third protester being arrested later in the day.
The scene recalled the tensions that have surrounded the community since the raids, including the night when the gate of Webb House was broken by intruders and the days when demonstrators gathered outside the property with aggressive chants and threatening behavior.
The community continues to insist that the accusations that triggered the raids originated from unreliable sources and that the scale of the operation was disproportionate. Their position remains unchanged, and they maintain that they cooperated with the authorities throughout the events of 29 April.
The hearings of 17 June did not resolve the broader questions raised by the raids. Yet, they marked a moment when the legal process moved away from the atmosphere of emergency that had surrounded the initial police action. The defendants left the courthouse with their bail conditions removed and with a long wait ahead before their trials. But the day also showed that the hostility directed at the community has not disappeared. However, the swift arrest of the two attackers outside the court suggested that the authorities are now more attentive to the risks faced by the residents of Webb House.
Videos of the racists’ protests:
