Demonstrators returned to the steps of Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday to champion an anti-Atos activist facing trial for simply using a megaphone.

"Defend the right to protest" rang out across the rain-drenched plaza as supporters with the Glasgow Defence Campaign rallied behind student demonstrator Dominic O'Hara.

Revolutionary Communist Group member Mr O'Hara was arrested at a protest last February against welfare contractor Atos after police ordered him to stop using a megaphone.

He had faced up to 12 months behind bars on a charge of assault with intent to resist arrest.

But the charge was dropped minutes before a court date in October, with police insisting only that his megaphone had given "cause for annoyance" under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act.

The offence is punishable by a maximum £50 fine.

Awaiting trial yesterday Mr O'Hara told the Morning Star he believed the arrests were part of a campaign of police intimidation, following two previous arrests for obstruction and assaulting an officer in 2011 and 2010.

"If it was happening in Cuba or China or somewhere it'd be all over the BBC - a noise complaint on one of the busiest streets in Glasgow."

Mr O'Hara said he believed his bail conditions - which barred him from entering the city centre on pain of imprisonment - had been designed to prevent him from attending future demonstrations.

"Just because it's not on paper doesn't mean protest-free zones aren't a threat. We're standing here outside a courtroom because I used a megaphone to speak about people's human rights.

"This is what class war looks like in reality - people being hauled through the courts and people dying, whether it's on the streets or in their own homes."

The trial continues.