Lilith
10-20-2002, 04:56 PM
A naturist protester has been arrested after he tried to attend a court hearing in the nude.
Steve Gough, 43, of Eastleigh, Hampshire, had been due to appear at Southampton Magistrates' Court.
He was due to face a charge under section 5 of the Public Order Act for walking naked in his home town on August 7.
After he arrived at the court without any clothes on, and brandishing a sign saying "Being naked is not a crime", he was arrested.
Before his arrest, Gough said: "As I arrived here today there has hardly been any reaction from people.
"There have been a few cheers, a bit of beeping of horns but no-one has been alarmed."
Adrian Cooper, of the Freedom to be Yourself campaign which is supporting Gough, said: "The Freedom to be Yourself is not about naturism or nudity, it's about having the right to be human.
"Steve Gough is an individual prepared to sacrifice his liberty in order to highlight the bizarre way in which the law criminalises the human body."
Gough was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and bailed, according to a Hampshire police spokeswoman.
His court case was adjourned.
Steve Gough, 43, of Eastleigh, Hampshire, had been due to appear at Southampton Magistrates' Court.
He was due to face a charge under section 5 of the Public Order Act for walking naked in his home town on August 7.
After he arrived at the court without any clothes on, and brandishing a sign saying "Being naked is not a crime", he was arrested.
Before his arrest, Gough said: "As I arrived here today there has hardly been any reaction from people.
"There have been a few cheers, a bit of beeping of horns but no-one has been alarmed."
Adrian Cooper, of the Freedom to be Yourself campaign which is supporting Gough, said: "The Freedom to be Yourself is not about naturism or nudity, it's about having the right to be human.
"Steve Gough is an individual prepared to sacrifice his liberty in order to highlight the bizarre way in which the law criminalises the human body."
Gough was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and bailed, according to a Hampshire police spokeswoman.
His court case was adjourned.