Man guilty of inciting race hate
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
A Birmingham man was found guilty yesterday of calling for the murder of American and Danish people during a demonstration in London.
Umran Javed, 27, was said to have been one of the leaders of the demonstration against the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. He was recorded on video by police who filmed the protest.
He was found guilty of soliciting murder and stirring up racial hatred, and was remanded in custody for sentencing in April. There were shouts of protest from the public gallery as the verdicts were returned.
David Perry QC, for the prosecution, told the court that Javed used a loudhailer to address about 40 people outside the Danish embassy in Knightsbridge on 3 February last year. He was seen to have shouted: " Bomb, bomb Denmark. Bomb, bomb USA."
Mr Perry said: "He addressed the crowd in terms which encouraged killing and incited racial hatred ... 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 and the slaughter of Jews.
Mr Perry said the crowd responded to his calls with similar calls and chants. In a reference to the dead Iraqi al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, Javed told the crowd that Denmark should watch its back, because Zarqawi was "coming back".
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."