A United Kingdom high court judge permanently banned demonstrations against an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum that have been taking place outside an elementary school for several months, BBC News said.
Justice Mark David John Warby ruled that an exclusion zone around Anderton Park School in Birmingham will remain, as the protests — undertaken by Muslims for the most part — have had a negative effect on students and staff, including 21 teachers who've been treated for stress, the outlet said.
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Many parents and activists claimed the curriculum contradicts their Islamic faith and is not "age appropriate" since protests began in June, BBC News said.
The court last month heard that "untrue" and "harmful" allegations were made about the school on social media, including that a visiting imam claimed to parents there were "pedophiles" in the school, the outlet said, adding that other false claims included that the school had a "pedophile agenda" and staff were "teaching children how to masturbate."
"None of this is true," Warby said as he handed down the ban at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre, BBC News said. "None of the defendants have suggested it was true, and the council has proved it is not true."
The lessons had been "misrepresented by parents," he said, according to the outlet, adding the school doesn't promote homosexuality and seeks to weave the language of equality into everyday school life.
Lead protester Shakeel Afsar, who has no children at the school, told BBC News he's "bitterly disappointed with the ruling and said the court is "one-sided" and that the judge, another official, and key witnesses had been white — as opposed to the "diverse" protesters.
"We can continue to protest in the same area that we have been protesting in since June this year," he added. "These young children are not being taught the status of law."
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