A provisional trial date has been set for seven men charged with causing grievous bodily harm after a man suffered a suspected bleed on the brain following a protest outside the Iranian embassy.
They were arrested after the Metropolitan Police responded to reports of a fight in Princes Gate, Knightsbridge, west London, shortly after 9.50am on June 20.
The defendants, who police said were all Iranian nationals, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Monday and spoke only to confirm their names.
They are: Mohammad Nadiri, 31, of Islington, north London; Vahid Pourrezaei, 41, of Cricklewood, north London; Armin Hasanlov, 35, of Liverpool; Esmaeil Balouchy, 50, of Brentford, west London; Saeed Hosseingholipoor, 34, of Mitcham, south London; Farzin Suleimani, 31, of Birmingham; and Aref Yazdan Parast, 31, of Isleworth, west London.
They were not asked to enter pleas to causing grievous bodily harm with intent after the court heard there were issues with legal representation.
The court was also told there is an eighth defendant whose case could be joined to that of the seven men.
Judge Gregory Perrins remanded the seven defendants in custody ahead of an adjourned plea hearing on August 1, with a provisional trial date set for January 5 next year.
The defendants were taking part in a protest outside the Iranian embassy against the current regime in Tehran, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard previously.
An Iranian flag was placed on the ground and one man “knelt and kissed that flag before running off with it” and was attacked, the court heard.
The victim was said to have suffered serious injuries including broken ribs, a broken ankle and a suspected bleed on the brain.
