Cartoons protest charge dropped

The protesters gathered outside the Danish Embassy in London

One of the men arrested after protests in London over the publication of cartoons showing the prophet Muhammad has had charges against him dropped.

Omar Zaheer, 26, from Southall, west London was accused of racially aggravated disorderly behaviour.

The Crown Prosecution Service says it has dropped the charge due to insufficient evidence.

Some of the placards waved outside the Danish Embassy during the protest are alleged to have incited violence.

Five other men still face trial in relation to the protests on 3 February.

Abdul Muhid, 23, from east London, is facing two counts of soliciting to murder.

Umran Javed, 26, from Birmingham, Mizanur Rahman, 22, from north London and Abdul Rahman Saleem, 31, from east London, are facing one count of stirring up racial hatred.

Javed and Mizahir Rahman are also facing one count of soliciting to murder.

All four men are due at the Old Bailey on 23 June for plea and directions.

One other man, Anjeem Choudary, 39, from Ilford, Essex, is facing one count of organising a public procession without permission.

He is due at Bow Street Magistrates for trial on 4 July.

Protests were held by Muslims across the world after the satirical cartoons first appeared in a Danish newspaper.

Among the images which have sparked outcry is one of Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban on his head.

Newspapers in Spain, Italy, Germany and France were among those to reprint the material.