UK drops charges against two participants of antisemitic convoy
Cars draped with Palestinian flags drove around London last May with men shouting antisemitic abuse
Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Tuesday dropped charges against two men who were accused of participating in antisemitic “Convoy for Palestine” in London last May.
Four men were arrested over a viral video that showed cars draped with Palestinian flags driving through a Jewish community in northern London with participants shouting antisemitic slogans and rape threats against Jewish women.
The CPS dismissed the case against Asif Ali, 26, and Adil Mota, 27, while Mohammed Iftikhar Hanif, 28 and Jawaad Hussain, 25, are still facing charges of “using threatening, abusive or insulting words, or behavior, with intent, likely to stir up racial hatred,” The Jewish Chronicle reported.
All four men traveled from Blackburn in northern England to participate in antisemitic protests and appeared on the video in one of the cars, but pleaded not guilty.
“We had advanced the innocence of Mr Mota from the outset, he has stressed he is not antisemitic and has nothing against Jewish people,” Mota’s lawyer Ghafar Khan was quoted as saying.
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He added that his client was part of the convoy but didn’t take part in shouting threats and antisemitic abuse. Neither Ali, nor Mota were required to attend the court for the hearing.
Earlier in February, the Community Security Trust reported that 2,255 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the UK in 2021, the highest tally in recent years across Europe. The UK’s outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously commented on last year’s incident stressing there was “no place for antisemitism” in British society.