Top campaigners to speak at conference in support of ‘Rotherham 12’

JUSTICE campaigners and leading lawyers will address a conference this weekend in support of a group of 12 men accused of being involved in a violent confrontation in Rotherham.

The event aims to highlight the Rotherham 12 Defence Campaign, which was formed to clear the names of a dozen Pakistani men charged with violent disorder following demonstrations in the town centre last September.

Those attending will include Hillsborough and Orgreave campaigners, civil rights advocate Suresh Grove; Imran Khan, the lawyer for murder victim Stephen Lawrence’s family; Liz Fekete, director of the Institute of Race Relations, and representatives of British Muslim Youth.

Sheffield Hallam University will host the event from 9.30am to 5pm tomorrow.

A spokesman for the Defence Campaign group said it would “discuss the systemic existence of institutional racism and injustice in the state, the criminal justice system and in particular, the growth of the Far Right in British society, as well as the spike in hate crimes currently.”

The group said the 12 men “should not have been charged and the case could lead to an injustice in the legal system should they be convicted”, and that tomorrow’s event aimed to “unpick some issues that have been prevalent in the town and provide a different view/slant on things”.

Of the 12 men accuess, one has admitted violent disorder and will be sentenced later. The other 11 are due to be tried in October.

Seven other men charged over the disorder in Wellgate — who come from Rotherham and West Yorkshire — is expected to take place in November.