Black woman charged after using n-word on social media

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news

Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

A Black woman has been charged after using the n-word in a tweet to another Black woman, The Independent has learned.

Jamila Abdi, 21, was having a discussion about a football match on X (formerly known as Twitter) on 27 August 2023 and used the n-word to refer to Black footballer Alexander Isak.

“I’m so p***** off let me get my hands on that f**** n***a,” Ms Abdi, who lives in London, wrote.

The Metropolitan Police called her in for questioning in December 2023 and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told The Independent she was charged under the Communications Act of 2003 this month.

Although no one was tagged in the post, the Metropolitan Police has alleged in documents seen by The Independent that the post “conveyed a message which was indecent or grossly offensive for the purpose of causing distress of anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to whom (...) intended (...)”.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “Hate crime has a profound impact on victims and communities.

“Being from an ethnic minority background does not provide a defence to racially abusing someone.

“Our commitment to tackling these abhorrent crimes through fair and impartial prosecution is unwavering.”

The Code for Crown Prosecutors states that “it is more likely that prosecution is required if the offence was motivated by any form of prejudice against the victim’s actual or presumed ethnic or national origin, gender, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender identity; or if the suspect targeted or exploited the victim, or demonstrated hostility towards the victim, based on any of those characteristics”.

Abdi is due to appear in court on 8 August.

The article was amended on 24 July 2024 to attribute to the CPS details of the act under which it said Ms Abdi had been charged.