Overview

• Police Scotland said Rose Docherty was arrested and charged on September 24 on Hardgate Road outside Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for an alleged breach of the Safe Access Zones legislation.
• The 75-year-old held a placard reading, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want,” and she maintains she stood peacefully without approaching anyone.
• She was held in custody for several hours and released on bail, and she is due to appear in court at a later date.
• Docherty was previously arrested in February under the same law, a case that prosecutors dropped in August while reserving the right to bring proceedings in future.
• The 200-metre buffer-zone law, introduced in 2024 by Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay, criminalizes conduct that could influence access to services with fines up to £10,000, and advocacy group ADF International has criticized the latest arrest; Docherty also alleges she was refused a chair in custody.