Veiled woman admits charge after jury is dismissed
Rebekah Dawson admitted intimidating a witness A Muslim woman on trial for witness intimidation has admitted the charge, after a jury failed to reach a verdict.
Rebekah Dawson, 22, had declined to give evidence after being told she had to remove her face veil.
The jury at Blackfriars Crown Court was discharged when they failed to reach a verdict following 12 hours of deliberations.
After a short delay Dawson returned to court and admitted the charge, which she had previously denied.
Religious beliefsDawson, of Hackney, east London, admitted intimidating a security guard at the Finsbury Park mosque in north London in June.
Judge Peter Murphy ruled in September that Dawson could wear her niqab in court but said she would have to let the jury of five women and seven men see her face if she gave evidence.
She had said it was against her religious beliefs to show her face to men.
Earlier in the trial, the judge warned jurors to put aside any feelings they might have about her appearance because it would have nothing to do with the case.
The jury also failed to reach a verdict in the case of her brother Matthias Dawson, 32, who faced the same charge of witness intimidation.
Prosecutor Kate Wilkinson said the crown would offer no evidence against him following his sister's guilty plea and he walked free from court.
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