Category Archives: UK

Teenager admits sickening attack on elderly Muslim outside Kilmarnock mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

------Wire Picture Name:sfkst190711mosque-1.jpgA teenager shouted racial abuse as he kicked and stamped on a 71-year-old grandfather’s head for 10 minutes. And he later sent a sickening text boasting about his horrifying actions.

At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Monday, the 16-year-old – who cannot be named for legal reasons – pleaded guilty to carrying out the vicious attack outside the Ayrshire Central Mosque in July.

His victim, who had already suffered a stroke, sustained severe facial injuries in the unprovoked attack which took place in the early hours of the morning.

Nancy Beresford, prosecuting, said that the former Crosshouse shopkeeper had gone to the mosque, in Hill Street, Kilmarnock, to prepare for Friday prayers at around 1.40am. As he approached the door, clad in white robes, he noticed a male and two females, along with young children, standing in the street, with another group of females nearby.

The 16-year-old then came towards him shouting abuse, including “Paki bastard”. He punched the pensioner in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground. The teenager continued the assault, while still shouting abuse.

Interviewed, he denied the assault and racial abuse. The 16-year-old told police that he couldn’t understand “why somebody was praying at that time in the morning”.

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JC talks to new EDL Jewish division leader

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The new leader of the English Defence League’s Jewish division has encouraged British Jews to back the extreme right-wing group and “defend liberal democracy”. James Cohen, 52, who is based in Ottawa, Canada, said his dealings with EDL leaders had led him to believe they were “affable, intelligent, right-minded people” who had been “wrongly maligned” by the British media.

Mr Cohen, a writer and activist who previously lived in Israel, admitted he had “done some soul-searching” after being asked to lead the division following July’s departure of Roberta Moore. He said he hoped British Jews would join EDL members at protests and in campaigning.

But the Board of Deputies said it condemned the EDL “unreservedly”. A spokesman said: “It is clear for all to see that the EDL are solely intent on causing divisions and mistrust between different groups in British society. When they wave Israeli flags at a rally or demonstration, they do so only to goad the Muslim community and to stir communal tensions. This, and everything that the EDL stands for, is utterly abhorrent. All right-thinking people should be repulsed by extremism from any quarter.”

Jewish Chronicle, 15 September 2011

Rizwaan Sabir wins compensation from police

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rizwaan SabirA student who was arrested and held for seven days after downloading the al-Qaida training manual as part of his university research into terrorist tactics has received £20,000 in compensation and an apology from the police for being stopped and searched.

Rizwaan Sabir, 26, was studying for a master’s at the University of Nottingham in 2008 when he was detained under the Terrorism Act and accused of downloading the material for illegal use. He was arrested on 14 May after the document was found on an administrator’s computer by a member of staff.

Sabir had asked the administrator, Hisham Yezza, to print out the 140-page manual as they were collaborating on research. The university said it called the police after efforts to contact Yezza failed as it felt compelled to act by its duty of care to staff and students. However, Sabir and Yezza dispute this version of events.

As soon as he was made aware of the situation, one of Sabir’s supervisors confirmed that the manual – which he had downloaded from a US government website and which can be bought at WH Smith – was relevant to his research.

After seven days and six nights in custody, he was released without charge or apology. But his lawyers later discovered Nottinghamshire police were holding an intelligence file on him, which contained false information about him and wrongly claimed he had been convicted of a terrorist offence.

His legal team brought proceedings against Nottinghamshire police for false imprisonment and breaches of the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Human Rights Act 1998. The proceedings also included a claim under the Data Protection Act 1998 relating to the intelligence file.

The case was due to go to trial on Monday 19 September, but the force settled last week, paying Sabir £20,000 compensation and covering his legal fees. It apologised to Sabir for a stop and search on 4 February 2010 and agreed to delete the inaccurate intelligence information.

Guardian, 15 September 2011

See also BBC News, 14 September 2011

Asbo for Hull EDL member who staged racist protest at world music festival

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tony ThomsenA protester with a far-right group hurled racist abuse at hundreds of people who had gathered for a world music festival.

Tony Thomsen wrapped an English flag around his head and shouted during the festival in Queens Gardens, city centre. He was part of an English Defence League (EDL) rally, a far-right group which opposes what it terms as “Muslim extremism”.

Thomsen, 40, of Rosedale Avenue, east Hull, has now been given an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo) after being convicted of being drunk and disorderly at the event on June 25.

The world music festival had been organised as part of Hull Refugee Week, which aims to challenge negative stereotypes, and attracted crowds of up to 2,000.

Ben Butler, project co-ordinator at the Asylum Seekers and Refugees Kingston Upon Hull (ARKH) group, said: “It was quite intimidating. The event was all about community cohesion and families and it was intimidating for the people who were present. What confuses me is the EDL claims to be a single-issue group, against Islamic fundamentalism.

“I can’t understand why members would turn up at a family event celebrating world music that had no religious connections and start shouting racist abuse. I get the feeling the EDL focus on Islamic fundamentalism as a bit of a smokescreen for general hatred.”

Thomsen, who recently changed his name from Tony Handley, was convicted in 2003 of daubing racist abuse on a private property in Spring Bank, city centre.

Under the Asbo, which lasts for two years, Thomsen is banned from drinking alcohol in a public place and causing harassment, alarm or distress to others. If he breaches the order, he could be jailed for up to five years. Thomsen was also fined £100 and made to pay £250 court costs after being sentenced at Hull Magistrates’ Court.

Hull Daily Mail, 15 September 2011

TUC expresses solidarity with journalists attacked by EDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

TUC affiliates expressed maximum solidarity with journalists who came under attack by the English Defence League (EDL) on September 3.

Moving an emergency motion on Tuesday National Union of Journalists (NUJ) executive member Anita Halpin explained how journalists going about their jobs had been abused and assaulted by members of the far-right organisation.

One journalist was sexually assaulted while another had lighter fuel poured over him and was set alight, suffering minor injuries. “We don’t want to have to add a British journalist’s death to the already too long list of colleagues abroad,” she said to a sombre hall.

Ms Halpin highlighted how NUJ activists had been identified by fascist website Redwatch. “We ask affiliates to call on police to prosecute those who attacked our members,” she said. “We won that fight against fascism and we will win this one.”

Seconding the motion RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that transport workers had refused to carry EDL members across the city on the day of the planned rally. “Our members felt threatened and we warned that members would walk out without a ballot if instructed to carry EDL members on public transport.”

“We won’t go to work if these people are there. And we won’t even use a ballot and we ask you to support us,” he said to huge applause from the conference hall. “The EDL need to be wiped out. They don’t stand for what decent human beings stand for.”

Morning Star, 14 September 2011

Peter King defends his witch-hunt of US Muslims, endorses Prevent

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Peter King protestPeter King testified before a British Parliamentary committee on Tuesday, defending his three congressional 9/11 hearings and saying he will not be stopped by political correctness.

The New York Republican appeared before the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee inquiry entitled “Roots of Violent Radicalisation“, presenting his findings from the three hearings he has held on radicalization within the Muslim-American community as the House Committee on Homeland Security chairman.

He told the Parliamentary hearing he “would not back down to political correctness” and will continue to tackle what he called a “dangerous problem”, according to a copy of his testimony provided to POLITICO by his office.

“Undoubtedly, Congressional investigation of Muslim-American radicalization is the logical response to the unquestionable fact that homegrown radicalization is part of Al Qaeda’s strategy to continue attacking the United States and its allies,” King said. “I would not back down to political correctness.”

King also praised the United Kingdom’s government for its work on stemming radicalization, noting that its “Prevent” strategy “offers a candid assessment of the problem and a model for effectively addressing and countering this problem”.

King told the hearing he is “concerned that within the United States, political correctness has prevented many from sufficiently acknowledging and tackling this dangerous problem” and said studying homegrown terrorism must remain of the highest priority for both the U.S. and UK.

“While I have no doubt that the Committee’s radicalization hearings have had a significant and beneficial impact in fostering an honest dialogue about the growing issue of radicalization within the United States, I remain concerned that this problem is far from resolved,” King said, according to his prepared remarks.

Politico, 12 September 2011

EDL leader Lennon released from prison

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stephen Lennon arrestedThe leader of the English Defence League, Stephen Lennon, has been released from Bedford Prison on bail until his trial for assault at the end of this month.

Mr Lennon, who calls himself Tommy Robinson, was held in custody at Bedford Prison for a week after breaking bail conditions by attending a demonstration in London. The EDL said their leader was on hunger strike while in prison, because he was a “political prisoner” and because he believed the food served was halal.

While at Bedford Prison he is understood to have been kept in segregation both for his own safety and over concerns about disruption at the prison. A source said: “There was a big concern because he is so high profile, so they kept him away from the other prisoners.”

The source said Mr Lennon was held in an underground cell where he was allowed a television, and that his exercise was taken in a yard boarded off so he could not be seen by other inmates. They added: “His hunger strike only lasted 24 hours and then he gave up.”

Luton Today, 13 September 2011

Only lasted 24 hours and then he gave up? A case of “No Surrender Ever – until I’m feeling hungry”.

Report on EDL to be published at University of Northampton conference

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A major report on the ideology, structure and development of the English Defence League (EDL) will be launched at an international conference at The University of Northampton next week.

The conference is entitled “Populist Racism in Britain in Europe since 1945” and will be held between 22-23 September.

The report, The EDL: Britain’s Far-Right Social Movement, also examines the EDL’s influence on far-right terrorism and “lone wolf” extremists. The latter are individuals who act alone with far-right extremist views; for example, Anders Breivik – perpetrator of the recent terrorists atrocities in Norway – allegedly acted alone and his manifesto praises the work of the EDL.

University of Northampton press release, 13 September 2011

US citizen on no-fly list detained in UK

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Michael MiglioreA 23-year-old Muslim convert who traveled by train and boat from the West Coast to England because of his apparent placement on the no-fly list has been detained in Great Britain.

Michael Migliore of Oregon tried unsuccessfully for months to fly to Italy, where he planned to live with his mother.

Migliore says he was told he is on the no-fly list, though U.S. officials refuse to confirm it. He believes he’s on the list because he refused to cooperate with FBI agents who wanted to question him after an acquaintance was charged in a plot to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland.

He ended up taking a trans-Atlantic cruise that arrived in England Tuesday. His mother says British police told her that he’d been arrested.

Associated Press, 12 September 2011

See also CAIR press release, 12 September 2011

Update:  See “US citizen to Italy after detention in England”,Associated Press, 12 September 2011