The Press Association: Army parade protesters lose appeal: "The focus on minority rights 'should not result in overlooking the rights of the majority' when it comes to freedom of speech, the High Court has said.
Two judges were rejecting appeals by five Muslim men who staged a protest as British soldiers who had recently returned from Afghanistan paraded through Luton.
They ruled the protests, which included accusing the troops of being 'rapists, murderers and baby killers', went well beyond 'legitimate expressions of protest'.
The five demonstrated against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as the Second Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, known as the Poachers, made its way through the city on March 10 2009.
The group was all convicted of public order offences by Luton Magistrates' Court. Jalal Ahmed, 22, Munim Abdul, 29, Yousaf Bashir, 30, Shajjadar Choudhury, 32, and Ziaur Rahman, 33, all from Luton, were found guilty of using threatening, abusive or insulting words likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress."
Two judges were rejecting appeals by five Muslim men who staged a protest as British soldiers who had recently returned from Afghanistan paraded through Luton.
They ruled the protests, which included accusing the troops of being 'rapists, murderers and baby killers', went well beyond 'legitimate expressions of protest'.
The five demonstrated against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as the Second Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, known as the Poachers, made its way through the city on March 10 2009.
The group was all convicted of public order offences by Luton Magistrates' Court. Jalal Ahmed, 22, Munim Abdul, 29, Yousaf Bashir, 30, Shajjadar Choudhury, 32, and Ziaur Rahman, 33, all from Luton, were found guilty of using threatening, abusive or insulting words likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress."
