A West Yorkshire police officer was given a community order after posting images of Hamas fighters on Whatsapp, days after the October 7 attacks in Israel.
Mohammed Adil, from Wibsey in BradfordHe escaped a prison sentence for supporting a banned terrorist organization after telling the court he hoped to retrain and study for a doctorate.
The 26-year-old arrived at a previous hearing wearing the black and white keffiyeh adopted by Palestinian supporters.
He accepted that he had posted two images in support of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the banned terrorist group, after the attacks in which Hamas killed 1,139 people.
The court heard he was a student district officer with West Yorkshire The police were in the process of completing their “operational competencies”, but were unable to complete all requirements in time when a review of their progress was ordered in late October.
His supervising officer reviewed his communications and noticed a video posted on WhatsApp on October 20 that showed images of Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader, and rockets being launched with the caption “rockets for Israel.”
Another video from October 28 showed a man speaking in Arabic with English subtitles that referenced the cleansing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem of the “abomination of the Jews” and “aggressive Zionists.”
On October 31, the supervising officer saw yet another video on Adil’s WhatsApp that referred to the Yemeni military attacking “positions of the Israeli Zionist regime.”
Also on October 31, another colleague saw an image that Adil had posted on his WhatsApp stories showing two men wearing bandanas with the logo associated with the military wing of the Hamas.
In the image were the words: “Today is the time for the Palestinian people to rise up, straighten their path and establish an independent Palestinian state”, attributed to Muhammed Daif, leader of the al-Qassam Brigades.
On November 4, Adil posted a video that showed a man wearing a red and white scarf and a headband with the al-Qassam Brigade logo.
The image was overlaid with text that read: “We will hold accountable all those who occupied our lands, and Allah will hold accountable all those who remained silent against this occupation and oppression” attributed to Abu Ubayda, spokesman for the al-Qassam brigades.
A final post, on November 7, featured a man speaking in Arabic with English subtitles that said: “Until the Muslims fight the Jews, the Muslims who are people of creed, people of faith, will kill them.”
He was then suspended and an investigation launched by North East Counter Terrorism Policing.
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An examination of his phone revealed a list of companies to be boycotted for supporting Israel and memes that quoted: “Israel to the Arab world is like a cancer to the human body. Arabs should unite to eradicate it.”
One video showed a speech by a person suggesting that the October 7 attacks were actually carried out by soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces.
Adil was charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 on May 1 and pleaded guilty the next day.
Bridget Fitzpatrick, prosecuting, told the court that Abid’s phone did not show any other material that could give rise to charges under terrorism law, but there was a “plethora of material that showed he had a long-standing interest in politics Middle East, including pro-Palestinian policy”. and anti-Israeli material, and a significant proportion related to Hamas or Hezbollah.”
The posts were made in the “stories” feature of his Whatsapp account, available for viewing by any of his 1,092 contacts for 24 hours.
Although the posts were not made in an open forum, the crime was aggravated by the proximity of the October 7 attacks and “very obviously, at the time he committed the crime, he was a police officer,” the prosecutor said.
Adil was in the dock with a white shirt unbuttoned at the collar and a dark tie, and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.
Natalie Turner, defending, said Adil had a “long-standing interest” in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and had family friends in the area.
“He has lost a career he worked so hard to obtain and which he started with the highest intentions of supporting the local community. It is something that he can never go back to and that causes him great pain.”
She said Adil, who has a master’s degree planned to “start from scratch and forge a new career”, involved doing a PhD but would not be able to do so if he received a prison sentence.
Sentencing him to an 18-month community service order and 160 hours of unpaid work, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told him the crimes were “extremely serious and beyond the custody limit”.
“You were a police officer and you should have known better. Quite rightly, the public held you to a higher standard than others.”
However, he added: “You have already lost your job as a police officer and if you want to do a doctorate, some establishments do not allow it if there is a custodial sentence.
“I accept that there is an adequate prospect of rehabilitation. Immediate custody would have a significant impact on the support you give your mother and sister.
“This was an isolated case and the risk of recurrence and harm to the public is low.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “Mohammed Adil understood that by sharing the images he took it would raise suspicions that he was showing support for a terrorist organisation.”
A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said Adil was currently suspended and that West Yorkshire Police would now organize a formal disciplinary process for serious misconduct.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
