Glasgow disability activists breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as prosecutors dropped charges against the Atos Two.

Student demonstrators Dominic O'Hara and Danny McGarell of the pressure group Glasgow Against Atos were due to appear in Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday following their arrests at a protest in February.

Mr O'Hara had faced a charge of assault with intent to resist arrest - a charge carrying up to 12 months' imprisonment - while Mr McGarell faced a charge of obstructing a police officer punishable by up to a month behind bars or a £1,000 fine.

But the pair arrived with supporters outside the courtroom yesterday only to learn that prosecutors had dropped all but one charge against them.

One charge remains against Mr O'Hara: failing to desist from operating a sound-producing device "so as to give any other person reasonable cause for annoyance" under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act.

The offence is punishable by a maximum £50 fine.

Supporters outside the courtroom told the Morning Star they were relieved to see the more serious charges dropped.

But the Glasgow Defence Campaign's chair Paul McKenna said the charges had already seriously infringed on their democratic rights to protest: the pair had been dragged in handcuffs from a public demonstration and had been subsequently banned from protesting in the city centre as part of their bail conditions.

"As it stands the police are allowed to interfere with your democratic rights, criminalise you for seven months and then sweep it all away before it reaches a judge," he said.

But Glasgow Against Atos spokesman Sean Clerkin described the day as a victory.

There was "no doubt" that the arrests and police surveillance had diverted the group's time and resources away from their core campaign.

But the right to protest was crucial, he said.

"Today at the court, with all the major charges dropped, it shows that we still have an independent judiciary.

"The bottom line is that we will succeed in getting Atos dropped as a partner to the Commonwealth Games and we will see the Work Capability Assessment scrapped.

"We will be vindicated," he said.