An unemployed political activist, 48 years old Raja Miah, made his third court appearance yesterday at which the date was listed for a trial over an offence under the Protection of Harassment Act, 1997. It will take place at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on 17th August, 2022, writes Neil Wilby.
He had previously pleaded not guilty to that offence, and another offence under the Communications Act, 2003, at Tameside Magistrates’ Court on 3rd February, 2022, following which Miah was bailed and the case was switched to Manchester at his request.
The communications offence, involving a Facebook post made on 21st June, 2021 concerning the Elbit Ferranti protests in Oldham at the time, was discontinued yesterday following a notice served on the court by the Crown Prosecution Service, under section 23 (3) of the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1985 in which they stated there was ‘not enough evidence to support a realistic prospect of conviction’.
The name of one of the witnesses in that case has been shared publicly by Miah, the Leader of Oldham Council, Arooj Shah. Under section 23 (7) of the same Act, the accused has the right to re-instate the proceedings if he so chooses. Usually, that would only arise if a defendant wanted to proceed with a trial because he was sure that he would be acquitted and his name fully cleared. It is understood that he was running a human rights breach and public interest defence, with regards to that particular offence.
In what he described as an emergency transmission yesterday afternoon, Miah told his supporters on social media that ‘the judge had thrown out the Arooj Shah case’. Which is, of course, different to the factual position. He also stated that Cllr Shah ‘was afraid to face him in court’. There is nothing on the court’s systems that supports such a hypothesis.
Miah was arrested in a dawn raid on Mossley, Tameside home in July, 2021 as part of a police investigation codenamed Operation Hexagon (read more here). During a search of his home that followed the arrest, electronic devices and a notebook were seized. He was eventually bailed on conditions that included a night-time curfew. The latter condition was removed at the first court hearing.
He has continually claimed that his arrest was ‘politically motivated’ (read more here) and provides a running commentary on the case, including his defence strategy, on his disgraced and frequently banned social media platforms, styled as Recusant Nine.
The complainant, a 38yo woman from Salford, has been granted anonymity by the court. Miah has also received a specific warning from GMP regarding witness intimidation (read more here).
Miah recently ran a spectacularly failed petition calling for a Home Office investigation into Operation Hexagon. It attracted around 300 signatures from Greater Manchester’s population of 2.77 million. Hexagon was set up in November, 2019 to investigate claims of large scale child sexual exploitation in the Oldham area.
The press offices of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council and Greater Manchester Police have both been approached for comment.
Page last updated: Wednesday 13th April, 2022 at 1435 hours
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Page last updated: Tuesday 12th April, 2022 at 0845 hours
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Corrections: Please let me know if there is a mistake in this article. I will endeavour to correct it as soon as possible.
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Right of reply: If you are mentioned in this article and disagree with it, please let me have your comments. Provided your response is not defamatory it will be added to the article.
© Neil Wilby 2015-2022. Unauthorised use, or reproduction, of the material contained in this article, without permission from the author, is strictly prohibited. Extracts from, and links to, the article (or blog) may be used, provided that credit is given to Neil Wilby Media, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Page last updated: Tuesday 12th April, 2022 at 0845 hours
Thank you for reading and a polite request: If you wish to make a contribution to the running costs of this website it would be very much appreciated. Donations can made securely, via PayPal at this link.
Corrections: Please let me know if there is a mistake in this article. I will endeavour to correct it as soon as possible.
Picture credit:
Right of reply: If you are mentioned in this article and disagree with it, please let me have your comments. Provided your response is not defamatory it will be added to the article.
© Neil Wilby 2015-2022. Unauthorised use, or reproduction, of the material contained in this article, without permission from the author, is strictly prohibited. Extracts from, and links to, the article (or blog) may be used, provided that credit is given to Neil Wilby Media, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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