A conspiracy theorist who claimed on Facebook that Grenfell Tower victims were “burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice” has been jailed by a court in the UK.
Tahra Ahmed, 51, posted “virulently” anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on social media days after the fire in west London that claimed the lives of 72 people. The tragedy is one of Britain's worst peacetime disasters.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey criminal court, she was found guilty of two counts of stirring up racial hatred by publishing written material.
On Friday, Ahmed was jailed for 11 months, a court official said.
Previously, prosecutor Hugh French told jurors that an examination of her account revealed two posts in January and June 2017 that “crossed the line as to what is acceptable in a liberal society”.
On June 18, 2017 — four days after the Grenfell Tower fire — Ahmed posted a video on Facebook of the blaze and referred to it being a “Jewish sacrifice”, the Old Bailey heard.
She stated: “I’ve been at the scene, at the protest and at the community meetings and have met many of the victims … some who were still in the same clothes they escaped in.
“They are very real and genuine, their pain and suffering is raw and deep and their disgusting neglect by authorities continues.
“Watch the footage of people trapped in the inferno with flames behind them.
“They were burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice.”
The post went on to link Grenfell to an anti-Semitic conspiracy on the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York.
An earlier post, from January 26, 2017, also set out an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, jurors heard.
A police investigation into Ahmed’s activities arose as a result of a story published in The Times newspaper on December 11, 2017, which focused on some of the people who attended public meetings after the Grenfell fire.
An examination of Ahmed’s Facebook account revealed a history of anti-Semitic comments.
Ahmed, from Tottenham, north London, denied wrongdoing, telling jurors that her posts were political rather than anti-Semitic.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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