(Muslim) Cartoon Protestor Guilty Of Soliciting Murder (UK)
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 1-5-2006 | Richard Holt
telegraph.co.uk
A British citizen has been found guilty of soliciting murder and stirring up racial hatred in the wake of the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed.
Umran Javed, 27, was said to have been one of the leaders of a demonstration against the cartoons in London.
Hundreds of Muslims demonstrated in London against the publication of the cartoons
He was found guilty of calling for the murder of American and Danish people and remanded in custody until sentencing in April.
Javed, of Washwood Heath Road, Birmingham, was recorded on video by the police and arrested later, said David Perry QC, prosecuting at the Old Bailey.
There were shouts of protest from the public gallery as the verdicts were returned on the second day after the jury retired.
Mr Perry said the demonstration of Muslims on Feb 3 last year was to protest about the cartoons printed in Denmark and then reproduced in some European countries.
He said Javed used a loudhailer to address around 40 people outside the Danish embassy in Sloane Street, Knightsbridge.
"He appeared to be one of the leaders," said Mr Perry.
Mr Perry said: "He addressed the crowd in terms which encouraged killing and incited racial hatred."
Javed had continued with his speech as the crowd were joined by between 200 and 300 other Muslims who had marched from the central mosque in Regent's Park.
He condemned the cartoons as dishonouring Mohammed and accused "non-believers of declaring war against Islam and the Muslim community", said Mr Perry.
"He said disbelievers would pay a heavy price ... and said Denmark would pay with blood."
Javed told his audience to take lessons from the murder of a Dutch film director who was murdered and the slaughter of Jews.
He was said to have shouted: "Bomb, bomb Denmark. Bomb, bomb USA."
Mr Perry said the crowd responded to his calls with similar calls and chants.
In a reference to the dead Iraqi al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Javed told the crowd that Denmark should watch its back, because Zarqawi was "coming back".
Mr Perry said the case was not about freedom of assembly or freedom of speech.
He said the words used were plainly criminal. "The words used were straight-forward and plain. If you shout out 'bomb, bomb Denmark; bomb, bomb USA', there is no doubt about what you intend your audience to understand.
"The prosecution case is that the defendant was clearly encouraging people to commit murder - terrorist killing."
Javed told the jury: "I regret saying these things. I understand the implications they have but they were just slogans, soundbites. I did not want to see Denmark and the USA being bombed."
Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "It was entirely proper to bring this prosecution and to pursue it vigorously because everybody should understand that whilst Britain is a tolerant society, it should never tolerate threats of violence or death from any quarter under any circumstance." |
