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.
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
