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    Three Men Jailed Over Gay Hate Leaflets

    Three Muslim men have been jailed for handing out leaflets calling for gay people to be killed.

    In a landmark case last month, Ihjaz Ali, 42, Kabir Ahmed, 28 and Razwan Javed, 28, were found guilty of breaching hate crime legislation by distributing the leaflets outside a mosque and posting them through letterboxes in the Normanton area of Derby.

    Ali was sentenced to two years in prison at Derby Crown Court, while Ahmed and Javed were jailed for 15 months. Two other men, Mehboob Hussain, 45 and Umar Javed, 38, were previously acquitted of the same charge.

    The trio are the first people to be convicted of inciting hatred on the grounds of sexuality since new legislation came into force in 2010.

    The men admitted distributing the flyers but claimed they were not "threatening" and denied they were designed to cause trouble for homosexuals.

    One leaflet, entitled 'Death Penalty?', had an image of a mannequin hanging by the neck from a noose printed on it.

    It stated that in 1533 homosexuality was punishable by hanging in England and that if practised in a town, "Allah permits its destruction".

    Derby Crown Court heard "many people" had complained to police about receiving the leaflets, which were distributed in the run up to a gay pride event in the city in July 2010.

    Gay people who received the leaflets were horrified.

    One man, who did not want to be named, told Sky News: "They incite violence and I would even say it's incitement to murder.

    "It lists various methods of executing homosexuals from burning alive, stoning, hanging or being thrown from a tall building and I felt that was directed at me.

    "My initial thoughts were that I was actually being targeted by an individual, it really was quite frightening. It's a very, very scary image especially when you realise what the message is," he said.

    The man said other leaflets were also given out.

    "Another was titled 'Turn or Burn' and the front of it was an image of a sea of fire," he said.

    "But more disturbing was the reverse side, where there was the picture apparently of a human body burning in flames."

    The man said the leaflets had had a lasting impact on his life.

    He said: "It happened 18 months ago and I'm still feeling very insecure in my own house. I'm suspicious of strangers on the street, strange cars.

    "I really avoid going out after dark because I never know when somebody is going to respond to a leaflet by possibly attacking me.

    "Apart from the cultural and religious aspects of it, I feel there are some gullible people in the wider community who will read literature like that and take it as a green light to commit violence."

    During the trial, the court heard that one gay man was so frightened by the leaflets that he left his home for a week.

    Another man, who also wished to remain anonymous, told Sky News: "I'm still looking when I'm walking down the street to see if someone is following me or when I go to bed I think, 'is someone going to do something to my letterbox?

    "It's just a nightmare. You can't sleep at night it's a big worry."

    The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which came into force in 2010, made it an offence to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

    After the verdicts in January, Sue Hemming, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service 's special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: "Everyone has a right to be protected by the law and we regard homophobic crimes, along with all hate crimes, as particularly serious because they undermine people's right to feel safe.

    "While people are entitled to hold extreme opinions which others may find unpleasant and obnoxious, they are not entitled to distribute those opinions in a threatening manner intending to stir up hatred against gay people.

    "This case was not about curtailing people's religious views or preventing them from educating others about those views; it was that any such views should be expressed in a lawful manner and not incite others to hatred."

     
    • Gargletrope  •  3 months ago
      So. Why can't they charge Abu Qatada with incitement (under the 2010 Act)....??
      • Matt 3 months ago
        Err? I don't think you can be charged in retrospect when his offences took place 6 years ago. Don't get me wrong, I want that scom bag and these clowns deported as much as the next person.
      • Sue 3 months ago
        Go to Speakers corner, the zionist Jews openly incite murder & hate but are protected by the police.
      • kez 3 months ago
        Because he must be of some use to Israels grand plan for the west
    • cassius  •  Oxford, England  •  3 months ago
      Some contributors assume that these people have come here from abroad, but they could well have been born here. The problem goes back decades, first to the unthinking politicians who legislated to allow more immigration without a thought for long-term effects, and secondly, to all those people who fell for a fashionable 'multiculturalism' that in practice amounted to separate development for many Muslims.
      • BARRY 3 months ago
        I do not believe that multiculturalism works. Sooner of later there will be big trouble but the people who caused it will be long dead and out of the firing line.
      • Enigma 3 months ago
        Same old same old argument. Do you guys have a life?
    • grant  •  Brighton, England  •  3 months ago
      I am frankly flabbergasted that these men got prison terms, this has to be a first for our government, actually tackling the muslim hate preachers. Pretty sure they will get out in a couple of weeks,with massive compensation payoffs but we won't hear about that. Send them all back to whichever country they are trying to turn the UK into. Seems to me to be way too much hate in this religion.
      • Rumi 3 months ago
        And I hope they get molested in prison... up their b*ms
      • Maurice Rhoden 3 months ago
        Send them to the U.S., Obama takes care of his own.
      • Lexi 3 months ago
        And they will still be drawing benefits from us all. And that piece of filth who is due out next week - he's on benefits too.
    • Jim B  •  Biggleswade, England  •  3 months ago
      So what about those religious fanatics who preach the wish to see Sharia Law in the UK? Are they not also guilty of threatening the vast majority of us in this country with things such as stoning to death, beheading , chopping off hands etc etc. They should also have their day in court!
      • FortyPlus 3 months ago
        YES YES YES YES, My thoughts exactly.
        MUSLIMS ARE NOT HAPPY
        They´re not happy in Gaza .
        They're not happy in Egypt .
        They're not happy in Libya .
        They're not happy in Morocco .
        They're not happy in Iran .
        They're not happy in Iraq .
        They're not happy in Yemen .
        They're not happy in Afghanistan .
        They're not happy in Pakistan .
        They're not happy in Syria .
        They're not happy in Lebanon .
        So, where are they happy?
        They're happy in Australia .
        They're happy in England .
        They're happy in France .
        They're happy in Italy .
        They're happy in Germany .
        They're happy in Sweden .
        They're happy in the USA .
        They're happy in Norway .
        They're happy in almost every country that is not Islamic!
        And whom do they blame?

        Not Islam...
        Not their leadership...
        Not themselves...
        THEY BLAME THE COUNTRIES THEY ARE HAPPY IN!
        And they want to change the countries they're happy in, to be like
        the countries they came from, where they were unhappy.
        Try to find logic in that !
      • WingDings 3 months ago
        LOL. Jimmy watches too much Sky News.
      • Nigel 3 months ago
        I'm sure they would be happy in Gazza, except he's too old for them! Don't think Gazza would like it, though! Ooh, painful...
    • Amanda  •  Brighton, England  •  3 months ago
      No real suprise here.
      This is how the justice system operates in Islamic nations under sharia law.
      Homosexuals are put to death and muslims who convert to a different religion are too.
      No wonder so many want to come and live in the U.K
      • Vince 3 months ago
        Amanda, are you one of the millions of sexual deviants. To remind you, homosexuality is a SIN in all 3 "Religions of the Book". Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
      • Roger 3 months ago
        Vince....Im not convinced. You are either a TROLL or a CRETIN.
      • JAMIE 3 months ago
        @ Vince get with the times things are changing you who you are live and let live. go shove your religion #$%$
    • simon  •  South Croydon, England  •  3 months ago
      As the cowboys used to say, 'Hang them high'. What if Blairs new Britian comes true, and they do take over? Will the 'Non believers' be round up like the Jews in WW2. Just a thought!
    • Wayne  •  Leeds, England  •  3 months ago
      This amazes me. As a gay man, the amount of Muslim men which are are secretly homosexual is amazing. I know of many!! How come they can do this and still feel they and their beliefs are just.?
    • David  •  Bolton, England  •  3 months ago
      Three more off the street's.Cant be a bad thing,they should get deported after.
    • Intel Fanboy  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      Not nearly long enough!
    • dido  •  Banff, Scotland  •  3 months ago
      Seems to be a very strange world, these people wuld be the first to cry foul if someone made reference to their skin colour.
    • Leslie  •  3 months ago
      These men should be deported to either a muslim state of there choice or there country of birth if not the UK. I'll never understand the sexual attraction of men to men but then again Im not homosexual so its natural that I don't. Two got motos for anyone going to live or visit another country are Live and let live & when in Rome do as the Romans do, these hate preachers obviously dont. Sentance then, lock them up and DEPORT them. Gets some balls UK gov and tell the EU Courts to keep out of the UK justice system.
    • russ  •  3 months ago
      I simply cannot believe this...these men are muslims...followers of islam the peaceful, tolerant religion...there must be some mistake...
    • Christine C  •  Manchester, England  •  3 months ago
      serves them right, when they're released they should be deported. We are asked to respect their beliefs so it should work the other way.
    • Magda K  •  Birmingham, England  •  3 months ago
      Are we now going to see Ken Livingston Jailed for making a public statement aimed at the Conservative party regarding Gays in its party?
    • shadyady72  •  Birmingham, England  •  3 months ago
      But if they insult the average white man they are ok.....they call soldiers rapists,but thats ok,THEY BURN OUR FLAG,but thats ok.....need i say more..!
    • john f  •  Sheffield, England  •  3 months ago
      Perhaps they will now realise they abide by English laws. We do not abide by theirs.
    • Nancy B  •  South Croydon, England  •  3 months ago
      If I stood in a street in aMuslim country and preached from the bible, I would be put in prison and, if found guilty, would be given the lash as punishment as well as a term in prison. Muslims have some weird beliefs, they can have 4 wives and their prophet married a 13 year old child, but that is ok in their world! May Allah forgive their sins - to preach such hatred is a sin in any religion!
    • P lid  •  3 months ago
      and there are no shirtlifting mussies ?
      and no mussie paedos , or no under age marriages of young girls ?.
    • Deltaboy  •  St Albans, England  •  3 months ago
      Lets get one thing clear a muslim born in the UK is still loyal to Pakistani first then his so called home land England, they always will be loyal to Pakistan, as for the leaflets, they should be jailed, but they will be released early to carry on with their hatred, of all things none Muslim,
    • david  •  Glasgow, Scotland  •  3 months ago
      Once again Muslims causing problems, if you they don't like it here feel free to go to any Muslim run country of their choice. I recommend Afghanistan. There must come a time as a nation we've got to say enough is enough.