UK police officer sentenced for sharing pro-Hamas images

A British constabulary serviceman was sentenced connected Tuesday to 18 months of assemblage work for sharing messages connected WhatsApp supporting the Palestinian militant radical Hamas.

Mohammed Adil, 26, from Bradford successful bluish England, pleaded blameworthy to 2 charges nether the Terrorism Act for sending the messages successful October and November past year.

He has been suspended from work and present faces disciplinary proceedings, perchance including dismissal.

Adil was reported by 2 colleagues astatine the West Yorkshire Police Force and charged by the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) Counter Terrorism Division.

“Mohammed Adil understood that successful sharing the images helium did, it would arouse suspicion that helium was showing enactment for a violent organisation,” said Bethan David, caput of the division.

Previously, main magistrate Paul Goldspring had warned Adil that the crimes were “very serious” and that helium could look situation time.

But connected Tuesday, helium said a custodial condemnation would beryllium “unnecessarily disproportionate”.

Adil was archetypal arrested connected November 6 and suspended arsenic an serviceman earlier appearing astatine Westminster Magistrates’ Court successful cardinal London successful May.

He admitted 2 counts of publishing an representation successful enactment of Hamas, which is proscribed arsenic a violent organisation successful the UK.

It came aft Israel declared warfare against Hamas successful Gaza successful effect to the militant group’s unprecedented October 7 attack.

Displayed connected his WhatsApp “updates”, prosecutors said the representation showed a Hamas combatant wearing a Hamas headband.

In 1 post, Adil had added the caption: “Today is the clip for the Palestinian radical to rise, acceptable their paths consecutive and found an autarkic Palestinian state.”

It was said to beryllium a punctuation from the person of Hamas’s subject wing, Mohammed Deif.

The 2nd station was captioned: “We volition clasp accountable each those who occupied our lands and Allah volition clasp accountable each those who remained soundless against this concern and oppression.”

That was said to beryllium from Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for the group’s subject wing.

The posts were accessible for 24 hours to Adil’s 1,092 WhatsApp contacts, according to prosecutors.

“We volition present commence with misconduct proceedings,” said Tanya Wilkins, of West Yorkshire Police, aft the sentencing.

“We marque it wide to each employees that it is not compatible for anyone moving successful policing to beryllium a subordinate of, oregon amusement enactment for, a proscribed organisation.”