Despite only having stood silently offering consensual\u00a0conversation and not having approached any individual, Docherty\u00a0has been\u00a0charged with breaching the\u00a0\u201cbuffer zone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reacting to her arrest, Rose\u00a0Docherty\u00a0said:<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody has the right to engage in consensual conversation. I held my sign\u00a0with love and compassion,\u00a0inviting anyone who\u00a0wants\u00a0to chat, to do so \u2013 and stood peacefully, not approaching anyone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI should not be treated as a criminal for\u00a0inviting\u00a0people to chat\u00a0with\u00a0me \u2013 lending a listening ear.\u00a0Conversation is not forbidden on the streets of Glasgow.\u00a0And yet, this is the second time I have been arrested for doing just that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In August, Scottish authorities dropped their case against\u00a0Docherty\u00a0for\u00a0holding the same sign in the same place after a global outcry against the 75-year-old grandmother\u2019s arrest, including concerns raised in\u00a0an\u00a0online post<\/a>\u00a0by the U.S. State Department.\u00a0<\/p>\n After her\u00a0arrest this week,\u00a0Docherty\u00a0was held in custody\u00a0for several hours. She was refused a chair to sit on in her cell, despite making it known that she had a double hip replacement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Docherty\u00a0has been charged and released on bail. Stringent bail conditions prevent her from attending an area marked out to be wider than the\u00a0initial\u00a0\u201cbuffer zone\u201d area, in a move\u00a0the\u00a0legal team at\u00a0ADF International call \u201cdisproportionate\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Legal Counsel\u00a0for ADF International,\u00a0Lorcan Price commented:<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0deeply concerning that Scottish policing resources are being ploughed into arresting and prosecuting a peaceful grandmother offering\u00a0to speak to people in public, rather than focusing on the problems caused by real crime in Glasgow.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a case\u00a0about\u00a0harassment,\u00a0intimidation\u00a0or violent protest \u2013 this is simply a grandmother, who held a sign offering to speak to anyone who would like to engage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n