Nudist campaigner walks from court a free (and naked) man
BBC | 11.01.2001 10:47
On a day when most people were only too happy to wrap up against the cold weather, the veteran nudist Vincent Bethell walked from court a free and naked man after being cleared of causing a public nuisance. In what must classify as one of the most peculiar cases in English legal history, Mr Bethell wore not a stitch during the five-day trial and the ladies of the jury were warned to look away when he walked from the dock to the witness box to give evidence.
Campaigner Vincent Bethell was today cleared of causing a public nuisance by demonstrating naked in the streets.
The 28-year-old artist's battle for the right to go naked has already cost him a four-month stay in a segregation wing at Brixton jail.
He has refused to wear clothes since 13 August and during a five-day Southwark Crown Court trial he remained naked - his private parts hidden by the wooden frame of the dock.
When the jury decided that Bethell, of Coventry, had not caused a moral outrage, he shouted in triumph: "Being a human being is not a crime."
The court heard that he went naked in public in London and Bristol over five weeks last summer, and that his "Freedom to be Yourself" campaign began in 1997. He said: "People have the right to go fully clothed. I should have the right to walk around naked." He said he hadn't caused outrage - people were interested in his point of view, or they smiled.
But Judge George Bathurst-Norman warned him: "I would not go away too much with that idea.
"It is simply not a public nuisance in these circumstances."
Mr Bethell, who has repeatedly been arrested for his nudity, has spent the last five months in solitary confinement at south London's Brixton Prison because of his refusal to wear clothes.
He left the court carrying a bag of clothes, shivering as he spoke to reporters outside in near-zero temperatures.
"This is a great decision, it is great progress," he said.
"On the other occasions I have been convicted by magistrates, but this is the first time I have been tried by members of the public. The jury trial is so important for justice."
He said he would continue his campaign and hoped the jury's verdict would send a "strong message" to the police and Crown Prosecution Service that nakedness in public was not a crime.
But prosecuting lawyer Orlando Gibbons, also speaking after the trial, said nudity in public would remain a crime until there was a change in the law.
Standing with Mr Bethell outside court was fellow nudist, Edward Pope, 52, of Oxford, wearing nothing but woolly gloves and socks.
Campaigner Vincent Bethell was today cleared of causing a public nuisance by demonstrating naked in the streets.
The 28-year-old artist's battle for the right to go naked has already cost him a four-month stay in a segregation wing at Brixton jail.
He has refused to wear clothes since 13 August and during a five-day Southwark Crown Court trial he remained naked - his private parts hidden by the wooden frame of the dock.
When the jury decided that Bethell, of Coventry, had not caused a moral outrage, he shouted in triumph: "Being a human being is not a crime."
The court heard that he went naked in public in London and Bristol over five weeks last summer, and that his "Freedom to be Yourself" campaign began in 1997. He said: "People have the right to go fully clothed. I should have the right to walk around naked." He said he hadn't caused outrage - people were interested in his point of view, or they smiled.
But Judge George Bathurst-Norman warned him: "I would not go away too much with that idea.
"It is simply not a public nuisance in these circumstances."
Mr Bethell, who has repeatedly been arrested for his nudity, has spent the last five months in solitary confinement at south London's Brixton Prison because of his refusal to wear clothes.
He left the court carrying a bag of clothes, shivering as he spoke to reporters outside in near-zero temperatures.
"This is a great decision, it is great progress," he said.
"On the other occasions I have been convicted by magistrates, but this is the first time I have been tried by members of the public. The jury trial is so important for justice."
He said he would continue his campaign and hoped the jury's verdict would send a "strong message" to the police and Crown Prosecution Service that nakedness in public was not a crime.
But prosecuting lawyer Orlando Gibbons, also speaking after the trial, said nudity in public would remain a crime until there was a change in the law.
Standing with Mr Bethell outside court was fellow nudist, Edward Pope, 52, of Oxford, wearing nothing but woolly gloves and socks.
BBC
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Keep it naked!
11.01.2001 13:56
Rob
NUDE Article from The Sydney Morning Herald
12.01.2001 02:42
How much can a festival bare? Well, a bit
By Catherine Keenan
With the cancellation again this year of the nude night surfing, some thought the Sydney Fringe Festival had become a fully clothed event. But nudity is back, it could be anywhere in town, and festival organisers are asking you to look out for it.
The signature surfing competition, which drew 8,000 people to Bondi Beach in 1999 before it was banned by Waverley Council, will be replaced by a series of random nude appearances at events throughout the festival, which begins today.
Videos of the events will be shown on the festival Web site, and the public will be asked to spot the mystery nudist by taking part in a Where's Willy? contest.
The festival's founder and director, Ms Megan Donnolley, said Where's Willy? - or the Fringe Dweller - was a way of "keeping the dream of nudity alive" until the nude surfing could be held again.
Mr Phillip Tanner, the executive producer of multi-media at Sydney Tribe, which hosts the Fringe Web site, said visitors to the site - at www.sydneyfringe
festival.com.au - who found Willy would win videos, digital video discs and "surprise packages". The first video will appear tomorrow, but Where's Willy? probably won't appear until the middle of next week.
Festival organisers said Willy might appear disguised with glasses or a moustache, and they were unsure if one or more people would take the part. Yesterday they had three potential Willies, and were considering auditioning for the role.
Nude surfing, first held when the Fringe began in 1995, ran for five years before it was banned by Waverley Council because of concerns about overcrowding, transport and safety. The police also disapproved, pointing out that nudity at Bondi was illegal.
Ms Donnolley said the application to hold the surfing was rejected again this year. But the chairman of the Bondi Safety Committee Mr Peter Moscatt, said the committee had not received a formal application, although it had discussed the matter and remained against it on safety grounds.
Mr Moscatt and the Mayor of Waverley, Councillor Paul Pearce, said they didn't object to nudity itself. Mr Moscatt said: "I don't care if they surf nude upside-down, that's got nothing to do with it. It's not a moral thing as far as I'm concerned."
Both also suggested that it might be possible to hold the event elsewhere, say, at Bronte Beach. Responding to the suggestion, festival organisers would say only that they hoped "somewhere, sometime, there would be a place for nude surfing".
Andrew