The Crown Prosecution Service has dropped all charges against four men who were filmed driving through London with Palestinian flags and shouting antisemitic abuse, including calling for the rape of Jewish women.
Last May, footage of a pro-Palestinian convoy of cars driving through London and shouting abuse about Jews went viral. The footage showed a convoy of cars draped in Palestinian flags and people leaning out the windows shouting abuse through megaphones.
Onlookers could be heard gasping as one man shouted, “F*** the Jews, rape their daughters.”
Other passengers chant, “Free Palestine” before spouting more antisemitic comments.
Finchley Road. North London. 2021.
Genuinely terrifying. pic.twitter.com/8I4puROGeA
— JB™️ (@gunnerpunner) May 16, 2021
Shamefully, all four men who were facing criminal charges have now had those charges dropped.
Mohammed Iftikhar Hanif and Jawaad Hussain had been charged with “using threatening, abusive or insulting words, or behaviour, with intent, likely to stir up racial hatred” while driving through North London. Additionally, in July, the CPS dropped charges against Asif Ali and Adil Mota.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement that, after a review of the evidence, there is “no longer a realistic prospect of either defendant being convicted”.
This means none of those who racially abused Jews in London will face criminal charges. Their intimidation and racism will go unpunished and will do nothing to reassure the vulnerable Jewish community that the authorities are looking out for them.
Nick Price, Head of Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said that they know the decision is “disappointing”, but insisted that prosecutors would not have been able to prove the cases against the two men.
Mr Price told the Jewish Chronicle: “This was a shocking incident, and we know how disappointing this decision will be for the Jewish community.
“Throughout this case, we have worked hard with the police to identify those filmed and the extent of their involvement. However, upon reviewing the evidence it has become clear we would not be able to prove to a court that one of the two charged individuals was in the car at the time of the captured footage. We could also not demonstrate that the second person had participated in the conduct to the criminal standard.
“We will continue to work with the Jewish community to rebuild trust. Anyone who sees hate crime should report it to police. We will prosecute all cases where there is sufficient evidence to do so.”
Despite the claim that there is not enough evidence, there was still a possibility that a jury would convict the accused.
Mike Freer, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, who also serves as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Services, said: “The CPS have a job to do, and whilst they may think the case does not have a realistic chance of success, sometimes we should take a chance and let a jury decide, otherwise wecontinually let perpetrators think they will get away with it, and the people who are terrorised think that they are not going to be protected.
“I think it’s a very disappointing decision, and I think they should have pursued it not only to send a message to those who seek to behave in this way, but also we may have discovered that the jury convicted them, so sometimes we should let a jury decide.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism called on the Director of Public Prosecutions to either explain the decision or resign, saying: “It shames our country that our criminal justice system has yet again left its Jews to fend for themselves.”
Mark Gardner, Chief Executive of the Community Security Trust, said: “The decision to drop all charges in relation to the notorious hate convoy through north London in May 2021 will cause understandable and deserved fury throughout the Jewish community and beyond.
“CST put a huge amount of work into tracking the convoy on the day, identifying the cars involved and ensuring that arrests were made in real time. We rely on our criminal justice system to protect our community from this kind of hatred and intimidation, and the failure to do so will leave a deep scar.
“The CPS need to urgently explain everything they have done to try to prosecute this case and set out in detail why they feel it cannot go ahead. The Jewish community, and indeed the wider community, deserve nothing less.”
It is absolutely shameful that racist abuse against Jews can be caught on camera and widely circulated to the point where those responsible are found and face charges – yet no action is taken against them.
Jews have every right to feel safe in their capital and the British authorities have failed them. Likewise, those who love Israel should be free to support Israel without intimidation. Pro-Palestinian protesters have often used intimidation as a tactic to shut down support of Israel, but this went far beyond that. It was openly antisemitic, it caused for physical harm to Jews, including the threat of raping women, and these men are now free to continue their terror and intimidation because our prosecution service is too weak to take action.
Shame on the CPS for making this outrageous decision. The Jews of Britain deserve better!
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