Three EDL members in court over Cambridge demo

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL in CambridgeAn English Defence League supporter who clashed with Asian men after a protest march cannot carry out his community work as part of a multi-ethnic group, a court heard.

Nathan Hopkins appeared before magistrates in Huntingdon when he was accused of being part of a group of English Defence League (EDL) members who got embroiled in a fight outside the Queen Anne Terrace car park, Cambridge, after a march through the city last Saturday. One of the Asians was punched in the head repeatedly during the fracas by Hopkins, prosecutor Laura Mardell told the court.

The 18-year-old, of Lombardy Drive, Peterborough, admitted using threatening behaviour and was given a 12-month community order, with 40 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs.

Magistrates requested a report on whether Hopkins would be suitable for community work and the court probation officer said that although he was suitable, the nature of the offence meant he could not take part in the multi-cultural work teams and would have to go on an individual placement.

Ms Mardell said Hopkins told police he had gone to Cambridge with a group of 20 other EDL supporters and he had been a member of the EDL since December 2010, “joining after believing too many extremists were coming into the country”.

Two other EDL supporters also appeared before magistrates charged with public order offences. Simon Pearson, 28, of Whitehill Road, Abbey, Cambridge, denied using threatening words and behaviour in the area of Christ’s Pieces and his case was adjourned to August 31.

Shaun Hughes, 48, of Wethersfield Road, Colchester, was accused of using threatening behaviour and assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty. Hughes was released on bail until August 18 with conditions that he does not attend any EDL rallies or enter Cambridgeshire apart from for court appearances.

Ms Mardell said Hopkins’ case arose when a group of around 10 EDL supporters clashed with a group of Asian men in the Parkside area. A fight started and police saw Hopkins punching an Asian man in the head three or four times.

Cambridge News, 16 July 2011

Three convicted after racist attack on Islamic college

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An angry mob shouted racist abuse at the gates of an Islamic college, sparking a confrontation with Muslim students, a court heard.

A bottle and stones were thrown after the group of drunken teenagers goaded residents at the college, in Willows Lane, Deane, in March last year. Two of the group climbed the gates to confront students but were beaten up and taken to hospital, Bolton Crown Court was told.

Niall Briercliffe, Barry Lomax, Aaron Buckley and Bhavesh Patel all admitted affray.

Patel, aged 19, of Brandon Street, Daubhill, was first to enter the college but after he threw missiles about five students rounded on him, leaving him unconscious with a suspected fractured skull. Buckley, aged 18, of Canterbury Grove, Daubhill, told a doctor he had been attacked with a cricket bat and hit in the face with a brick. Police investigated the two defendants’ injuries but no charges were brought.

Briercliffe and Lomax stayed behind the gates of the college with a group of others, who swore, shouted racist abuse and some threw stones.

Sentencing, Recorder Brian Cummings QC said: “You went into the grounds of the college, making confrontation almost inevitable.”

Patel was given a 10-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work. He was ordered to pay £100 compensation. Buckley was given a six-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 60 hours unpaid work. He was ordered to pay £100 costs.

Lomax, aged 18, of Horeb Street, Bolton, was given a 10-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work. He was ordered to pay £100 compensation. Briercliffe, aged 17, of Church Avenue, Daubhill, was given a 12-month youth rehabilitation order and ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work.

Asian Image, 16 July 2011

Quilliam’s ‘Former EDL members speak out’ stunt unravels

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Quilliam_logoOur friends at Quilliam have proudly announced that they will be holding a roundtable event next week at which ex-members of the English Defence League will condemn their former organisation.

This would appear to be in line with the view promoted at the Summit Against Violent Extremism in Dublin last month, with which Quilliam was actively involved, namely that individuals who have renounced extremist violence are among the best placed people to campaign against it.

As Quilliam’s publicity for the 20 July roundtable explains, while the EDL has gained prominence through its often violent public activities, “relatively little is known about the group’s internal workings, its methods of recruitment, its overall strategy and its future plans. For the first time ever, Quilliam is able to bring together former senior members of the EDL who have renounced the group and are willing to speak out against it publicly and to answer questions about the organisation and their time inside it.”

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No surrender? EDL hooligans deny EDL membership

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL_No_SurrenderA man arrested during an English Defence League demonstration in April has escaped a prison sentence.

Lee Stubbs, of Kings Avenue, Queensbury, was stopped by police after being spotted with a knuckleduster during the rally on April 16. The weapon was attached to his belt when he was arrested on Hall Street, behind police lines which had formed to keep the EDL in the town centre.

The 23-year-old said he had been using the knuckleduster as a belt buckle and had no intention of using it as a weapon. He admitted a charge of possessing an offensive weapon but insisted he was not a member of the EDL.

Calderdale Magistrates heard how Stubbs had entered Halifax to drink with friends but didn’t realise an EDL demonstration was taking place until he arrived in the town.

Halifax Courier, 14 July 2011

Police were drafted in after an English Defence League football match was organised on a pitch normally used by Asian youths.

Blackburn magistrates heard shortly after the EDL game, involving 20 to 25 white males, started, about 30 Asian males arrived at the concrete pitches in Queens Park. The two groups were playing on adjoining pitches but tempers flared and words were exchanged when the ball from the Asian game went over to the other side.

Nicholas John Smyth, 26, of Sherwood Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to using racially-aggravated threatening behaviour. He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £85 costs.

Jonathan Taylor, defending, said Smyth had gone to play football with a few friends. He realised there were members of the EDL there, although he was not a member of the organisation.

Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 15 July 2011

Wilders serves freedom’s cause

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Geoffrey AldermanWell, that’s the view of Geoffrey Alderman, writing in the Jewish Chronicle. But don’t get the idea that Alderman is entirely uncritical of the Dutch far-right anti-Muslim racist.

Alderman applauds Wilders for being “absolutely unrepentant – and unrelenting – in his insistence on telling the truth about militant Islam”. And he continues:

“The very public statements that landed him in court included the challenging assertion that ‘Islam is a fascist ideology’ and the equally provocative allegations that ‘Islam and freedom, Islam and democracy are not compatible.’ Each of these statements is credible (or at least plausible) and each can be supported by evidence.”

On the other hand, in supporting a ban on ritual slaughter, which would result in the illegalisation of shechita, Wilders “has displayed a limited vision that does neither him nor his party any credit”. As Alderman explains:

“Shechita is in peril in the Netherlands partly because of the propaganda put out by the Freedom party against religious slaughter of food animals, which most Dutch people take to mean Muslim slaughter. In a frenzy of passion against Islam, the Dutch have punished the Jews.”

Whereas, in Alderman’s view, the Dutch should lay off the Jews and stick to punishing the Muslims.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain backs opponents of Murfreesboro Islamic Center

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Murfreesboro mosque protestMURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain opposes a planned Tennessee mosque that has been the subject of protests and legal challenges.

Cain didn’t bring up the controversial facility in a campaign rally on Thursday, but told reporters afterward that he’s concerned about the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. “It is an infringement and an abuse of our freedom of religion,” he said. “And I don’t agree with what’s happening, because this isn’t an innocent mosque.”

The new mosque has been the subject of protests and counterprotests in the city about 35 miles southeast of Nashville. A county judge ruled in May that the mosque construction does not harm the residents who sued to try to stop it, but he allowed them to move forward on claims the county violated an open meetings law in approving it.

Opponents have used the hearings to argue that the mosque is part of a plot to expand Islamic extremism in the U.S. Cain appeared to agree. “It is another example of why I believe in American laws and American courts,” Cain said. “This is just another way to try to gradually sneak Shariah law into our laws, and I absolutely object to that.”

Huffington Post, 14 July 2011

See also Adam Serwer, “Herman Cain winning the anti-Muslim primary hands down”, The Plum Line, 15 July 2011

71-year-old Muslim seriously assaulted outside Kilmarnock mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police at Kilmarnock are continuing enquiries and appealing for information after an elderly man was seriously assaulted in the early hours of Friday 15 July 2011.

The 71-year-old Asian man was discovered with serious facial injuries around 0130 hrs on Friday 15 July 2011 outside the Community Mosque in Hill Street, Kilmarnock. It is believed that he was attacked prior to opening the Mosque for a prayer session and was discovered by two fellow members of the Mosque who informed the emergency services.

The injured man was taken by ambulance to Crosshouse Hospital where he is currently being treated for his injuries. Hospital staff describe his condition as stable.

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‘It’s a white country, not a Muslim state’, BNP supporter told Asian neighbours

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nigel HesmondhalghA man who made his Asian next door neighbours’ lives a misery with his anti-social and racist conduct was spared immediate jail.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Nigel Hesmondhalgh, 36, who had a British National Party sticker in the window of his Accrington home, was abusive and insulting to the couple, repeatedly picking on the wife. He piled dog dirt up in the alley outside their home and told them: “It’s a white country, not a Muslim state.”

Hesmondhalgh, said to be the carer for his brother, who has learning difficulties, told the husband of the couple he should be scared and shouted support for the BNP. The couple had lived in their home for 14 years before he moved in.

The defendant, of Stanley Street, Accrington, was given 36 weeks in custody, suspended for two years, with 18 months supervision and the Thinking Skills programme. Martin Hackett, defending, said Hesmondhalgh had been very close to his mother who died last July and he may have been adjusting.

Lancashire Telegraph, 13 July 2009

Consulting Hesmondhalgh’s Bebo profile, we find him indignantly denying that any racist language was directed against his neighbours – a claim rather undermined by the accompanying messages Nigel Hesmondhalgh says:”Kill All The Fuckin Pakkis”and What Is The Difference Between A Tea Towel And A Baseball Bat? FUCK ALL The Both Wrap Nicely Round A Pakkis Head.

And this thug has escaped a prison sentence.

Fife man sentenced for attack on Muslim woman

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Fife drug addict who assaulted a Muslim woman by pulling a burka from her head has been sent to jail. Duncan Gandy grabbed the woman’s burka as she walked through the Kingdom Shopping Centre in Glenrothes last month, leaving her extremely distressed.

Sheriff Grant McCulloch told the 31-year-old accused, who was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the incident, that custody was the only appropriate sentence for what he termed an offensive, frightening and demeaning attack.

Gandy, of Provosts Land, Leslie, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday after previously admitting assaulting Shaheen Khan by pulling her burka from her face and head. He was sentenced to 135 days in prison for the attack. He also admitted breaching bail conditions, for which he was sentenced to an additional 60 days.

Sheriff McCulloch pointed out that the accused had admitted a racially-aggravated assault, and added, “Suddenly, without warning, you pulled the burka from her face. That was clearly offensive, clearly frightening and clearly demeaning for her.

“There is no mitigation that can be put forward other than the fact you were under the influence of illegal substances. That, in my view, is an aggravation not a mitigation and I take the view that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”

The sheriff said the sentence would have been 180 days had it not been for Gandy’s early guilty plea.

His jail term was welcomed by a Fife organisation promoting racial equality and awareness. Naeem Khalid, co-ordinator of Fairness, Race Awareness and Equality (FRAE) Fife, said Gandy had committed an attack on a vulnerable woman as well as on her faith.

“Everyone’s religion should be respected,” he said. “This was a disappointing event and there needs to be redress towards that. People must have the freedom to practice their religion and the freedom to express that.

“The burka is a principle of her faith and, for me, to remove that is attacking her faith and belief. She was a vulnerable female and the attack will have other repercussions as it will affect her confidence to walk in public.”

The Courier, 13 July 2011

Via ENGAGE

‘Forgotten’ terror suspect from Tooting nears five years in prison

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Free Talha AhsanThe family of Tooting’s ‘forgotten’ terror suspect, who remains in jail without trial, are preparing to mark the fifth anniversary of his imprisonment.

Syed Talha Ahsan – a 31-year-old writer with Asperger syndrome – was arrested at his home in Franciscan Road, Tooting, on July 19, 2007, after US authorities requested his extradition. He is accused in the US of terrorism-related offences arising out of an alleged involvement with a series of websites between 1997 and 2004. Mr Ahsan’s case is linked to that of Babar Ahmad – but he has received much less media attention than Mr Ahmad, who was arrested in 2003 and is also still in prison.

Mr Ahsan, who graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies with a First in Arabic, has never been charged or tried in this country. He is currently in the final stage of proceedings at the European Courts of Human Rights – fighting against extradition.

Speaking to the Wandsworth Guardian this week, Mr Ahsan’s 73-year-old father, Syed Abu Ahsan, said the family was “very very depressed” about the situation, adding he did not hold out much hope his son’s case would be resolved soon. He said: “Nobody is above America. If they say something nobody dares to say differently.”

But Mr Ahsan’s family continue to lobby the Home Secretary to give him a fair trial in the UK, giving special consideration to his medical conditions. On July 19, they will be at the Islamic Human Rights Commission bookshop, in Wembley, where supporters will give readings from a book of poetry Mr Ahsan has written and had published while in Long Lartin Prison.

Mr Ahsan’s MP, Sadiq Khan, who has spoken out about Mr Ahmad’s case in the past, said: “It is extremely distressing for Mr Ahsan’s family that this case continues to drag on. I have met with the Extradition Minister to discuss this case and the case of Babar Ahmad. Although the Government is reviewing its policy on extradition to the United States, they have told me it is unlikely to cover existing cases, which is bad news for the family. I am hopeful that the European Court of Human Rights will make a judgement soon on the case.”

A spokeswoman for the Home Office had not responded to any queries as this week’s paper went to press.

For more information visit freetalha.org

Wandsworth Guardian, 13 July 2014