Girl, 16, among Southampton Nowak protest arrests as three charged

Following the conviction of Vikrum Digwa for the murder of Henry Nowak, protests erupted in Southampton, leading to multiple arrests and charges. In response to the unrest, three additional men have been charged, while four men and a teenage girl were taken into custody. The disturbances saw 11 police officers and a police dog sustain injuries amid clashes where objects such as wheelie bins and chairs were thrown.

The unrest was sparked after police released bodycam footage showing 18-year-old Nowak being handcuffed shortly after he was stabbed by Digwa, 23, who was sentenced to life imprisonment. Hampshire police confirmed that Darren Medhurst, 36, Jordan Hambleton, 19, both from Southampton, and Callum Darch, 27, from Romsey, have been charged with violent disorder. This latest development brings the total number of people charged in relation to the protests to 14. All three men have been remanded into custody and are scheduled to appear before Southampton Magistrates’ Court.

In addition to those charged, four other men were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder. Three are from Southampton, aged 18, 34, and 45, and the fourth is a 41-year-old from Basingstoke; all remain in police custody. Furthermore, a 16-year-old girl from Southampton, initially arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, was released on conditional bail as investigations continue. To date, eight men have admitted guilt for violent disorder offenses, including one individual who was found carrying a dog lead with a metal carabiner, considered an offensive weapon. There remains one individual who has denied assaulting a police officer.

The charged individuals include Harry Varney, 34, and Dillon Crawford, 29, both from Southampton, along with Taylor Grundy, 22, from Gosport, and Andrew Summerhayes, 38, of Romsey, who appeared in court recently. In a separate hearing, Kevin Reeves, 31, and Andrew Riddett, 38, both from Southampton, did not enter a plea to violent disorder charges. Others, such as Connor Bishop, 24, also from Southampton, and Reece Robinson, 21, plus Noah Etherington, 18, from Havant, pleaded guilty to violent disorder during hearings in Southampton and Portsmouth. Daniel Frost, 44, from Southampton, admitted to violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon, while Matt Styler, 50, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.

Henry Nowak was originally from Chafford Hundred, Essex and was a first-year accountancy and finance student at the University of Southampton. He was fatally stabbed in Southampton last December by Digwa, who had claimed he acted in self-defence after alleging racial abuse; however, these claims were found to be false

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