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Trial of Dewsbury 82 begins

01 January 1991

Trial of Dewsbury 82 begins
artdoc June=1991

About 1000 people attended a national demonstration against
racist attacks and in support of the Dewsbury 82 held in Leeds
on 1st September. Eighty-two, mainly Asian, youths had been
arrested after clashes with the British National Party in
Dewsbury on June 24th 1989.
The Guardian reports that 20 of the youths, charged with
public order offences, went on trial at Leeds Crown Court.
They had all been remanded on stringent conditions which
included surrendering their passports, and not attending public
meetings. Central to the defendants' arguments is the plea
that the violence was provoked by the BNP rally and the
subsequent policing operation. Meanwhile, the Independent
report on the trial focuses on the police prosecution's version
of events, under the headline: `Mob "went on rampage" after
rival meetings'. (Guardian 3.9.90; Asian Times 11.9.90;
Independent 6.9.90.)

IRR Police-Media Bulletin No 64. Institute of Race Relations,
2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS