The Crown Prosecution Service of Britain (CPS) has announced that it has dropped charges against two men who were charged with "using threatening, abusive or insulting words, or behavior, with intent, likely to stir up racial hatred” at an antisemitic convoy in London last year, according to The Jewish Chronicle.
Mohammed Iftikhar Hanif and Jawaad Hussain were charged, but the CPS has decided that after reviewing the evidence there is "no longer a realistic prospect of either defendant being convicted," according to the Chronicle. Charges against two other men who were involved in the antisemitic convoy were dropped last July.
Jewish Organizations demand explanations
The Campaign Against Antisemitism has demanded the resignation of the CPS chief and has announced that it is exploring legal options.
In an official statement, The CAA has described the convoy in the following manner: "As fighting flared in Gaza, a convoy waving the flag of the Palestinian Authority set off from the north of England, heading into London. Men in one of the cars shouted from a megaphone: “F*** the Jews…f*** all of them. F*** their mothers, f*** their daughters, and show your support for Palestine.”
"The speaker went on to call on listeners to “Rape their [the Jews’] daughters”. The incident took place a very short distance from a synagogue."
The CPS has dropped all charges over the notorious convoy.
“@MaxHillKC must immediately explain this decision or resign… We are exploring whether we can bring a private prosecution and… whether we could bring a judicial review against @CPSUK,” the CAA said.Read more: https://t.co/JOkniGA2Cj https://t.co/6QIb1k09Zk pic.twitter.com/poRhj2HlJp
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) November 18, 2022
“The Director of Public Prosecutions must immediately explain this decision or resign," A spokesperson for the CAA said. "If the CPS is incapable of bringing to justice the people who drove through London in broad daylight on camera calling for the rape of Jewish women and girls, then it has reached the absolute pinnacle of pointlessness.
“This was a crime that sent Jewish families running in fear and caused the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to demand action," the campaign said. "Britain’s Jews are facing surging hatred and are crying out for justice. We are exploring whether we can bring a private prosecution, and we are also considering whether we could bring a judicial review against the CPS.
“It shames our country that our criminal justice system has yet again left Britain’s Jews to fend for themselves.”
"The CPS need to urgently explain everything they have done to try to prosecute this case and set out in detail why they feel it cannot go ahead. The Jewish community, and indeed the wider community, deserve nothing less.”
Mark Gardner, the Chief Executive of the Community Security Trust
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust – a charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism and related threats and was part of the effort to identify the perpetrators – has issued a statement regarding the dropping of charges, saying: "CST put a huge amount of work into tracking the convoy on the day [it took place], identifying the cars involved and ensuring that arrests were made in real time. We rely on our criminal justice system to protect our community from this kind of hatred and intimidation, and the failure to do so will leave a deep scar.
"The CPS need to urgently explain everything they have done to try to prosecute this case and set out in detail why they feel it cannot go ahead," he said. "The Jewish community, and indeed the wider community, deserve nothing less.”Statement by CST Chief Executive @MarkGardnerCST on the decision to drop charges in relation to the notorious convoy https://t.co/4CkxgHrcXN pic.twitter.com/ZJMDVdXfJn
— CST (@CST_UK) November 18, 2022