British men found guilty of promoting hate
In the first trial of its kind in Britain, three Muslim men were charged with stirring up hatred against a sexual minority after they handed out leaflets saying that the punishment for homosexuality was death.
In order to convict, the jury had to be convinced the leaflets were more than simply insulting or abusive, but were actually “threatening”, and designed to stir up hatred. Yesterday, the three were found gulty of doing just that.
One of the pamphlets, 'The Death Penalty?,' included an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose. It stated that the cure for homosexuality in society was capital punishment.
The men admitted they created and distributed the flyers, but claimed there was nothing threatening about them.
“We are living in a society and if we don’t stop it, something like a tsunami will happen here, something on that scale,” argued Kabir Ahmed. “We are trying to stand and voice on these issues. I am part of this country – I was born here. You can think of it as a little vigilante thing.”
"They incite violence and I would even say it's incitement to murder," countered one gay man. "It lists various methods of executing homosexuals from burning alive, stoning, hanging or being thrown from a tall buidling and I felt that was directed at me."
The three men will be sentenced in February. They face 7 years behind bars and an 'unlimited' fine.
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