Man who called for all British Muslims to be killed after Manchester attack on Facebook jailed for a year
CPS warns people that they 'cannot hide on social media when stirring up hatred and violence'A man who posted a Facebook message calling for all British Muslims to be killed in the wake of the Manchester attack has been jailed for a year.
Keegan Jakovlevs, of Wrexham in North Wales, previously pleaded guilty to publishing material with the intention of stirring up religious hatred.
The 22-year-old was sentenced at Mold Crown Court for the crime, which is made illegal by the Public Order Act 1986.
Prosecutors said Jakovlevs posted his message shortly after the bombing at Manchester Arena on 22 May and that it was taken down shortly afterwards.
Isis supporter Salman Abedi killed 22 victims, including children, and injured 250 more when he detonated a homemade bomb as fans poured out of an Ariana Grande concert.
“Jakovlevs’s Facebook message expressed sympathy for the families of those caught up in the bombing but then, using racist and offensive language, he called for every Muslim in the country to be killed,” a spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
“The prosecution argued that Jakovlevs’s single message was particularly serious because it was posted so soon after the Manchester bombing when public emotions were running high.”
The CPS said the message was accessible to his 2,154 Facebook friends “at the very least” and to other members of the public.
“Overall, there was potential for it to have been seen by a very large number of people and for serious harm to have occurred in addition to the obvious fear and distress suffered by any member of the Muslim community who may have seen it,” prosecutors added.
Sue Hemming, head of the special crime and counter-terrorism division in the CPS, said no harmful action was traced to the post but Jakovlevs’s “intention was clear”.
She added: “After the Manchester attack there were countless messages of support on social media for those affected but Keegan Jakovlevs chose to stir up religious hatred by calling for British Muslims to be indiscriminately killed.
“People should not assume they can hide on social media when stirring up hatred and violence. Where there is evidence the CPS will prosecute them and they will face imprisonment as a result.”
Numerous defendants have been prosecuted for social media posts in recent months, for offences including inciting hatred and violence, and spreading Isis propaganda.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/man-british-muslims-killed-manchester...