Ihjaz Ali, 41, Umar Javed, 37, and Mehboob Hussain, 44, are accused of distributing threatening written material intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation after they were said to have handed out leaflets calling for the death penalty for homosexuals. Two of their alleged accomplices, Razwan Javed, 30, and Kabir Ahmed, 27, were charged with the same offence on Thursday. All five will appear in court next month for a committal hearing after a district judge ruled the case would have to be heard by the Crown Court. All three men plead not guilty to leafleting in Shaftesbury Crescent and Princes St, whilst Ali plead not guilty to a further charge of distributing leaflets outside the mosque. Razwan Javed and Kabir Ahmed, who are charged with distributing leaflets outside the mosque, have not entered pleas. All will appear again on February 14. It is the first prosecution since laws outlawing homophobia came into force last March. The Public Order Act 1986 was amended by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.Three men in court charged with stirring up hatred of homosexuals
Three men have appeared in court accused of stirring up hatred of homosexuals
in the first case of its kind in Britain.
Friday, 28 January 2011
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