Men jailed for EDL bomb plot challenge sentences

Six men jailed for planning to bomb an English Defence League rally are challenging their jail terms, saying they were treated more harshly than non-Muslim extremists.

The West Midlands men were jailed for between 18 and 20 years for plans related to the June 2012 rally, in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

The men are Omar Khan, Jewel Uddin, Zohaib Ahmed, Mohammed Hasseen, Anzal Hussain and Mohammed Saud

They were sentenced in June last year.
Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC carried out the sentencing at the Old Bailey.

Five of the men had taken a bomb, knives and sawn off shotguns to the rally in June 2012 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
The case raises the issue of what some lawyers have called a "Muslim surcharge" on sentences for this type of offence.

Khan, Uddin and Ahmed were sentenced to 19-and-a-half years in prison.
Hasseen, Hussain and Saud were given 18 years and nine months.

All of the men received an extra five-year extension to their terms "on licence".

These were what are known as "extended sentences", which means that the men will serve at least two thirds of their principal sentence in prison.

Once they are released, they remain on licence for the remainder of their prison sentence, and for the licence period.

However, the BBC has learnt that the men's lawyers will argue that comparisons with prison terms given to non-Muslims found guilty of similar offences shows a persistent pattern of much lower sentences.

Read more HERE

Muslim Rapist Hassan Akhtar and accomplice get 21 years in prison

Muslim Rapist Hassan Akhtar has been jailed for 13 years while the sick accomplice, who set up the attacks on a vulnerable girl to help pay her rent, got eight years.

Muriel Coleman facilitated repeated rapes on the girl after falling more than £1,000 behind on her rent, which she owed to Akhtar’s uncle.

Akhtar was convicted of four counts of rape and one attempted rape after jurors returned unanimous verdicts on each count.

The 37-year-old repeatedly raped the teenager at a flat in County Durham and at his home in Northgate, Stanley, when his wife was either visiting a mosque or relatives in Pakistan.

His accomplice, Coleman, who told a “pack of lies” during police interviews, initially denied it was her who helped him seek out the girl.

But she admitted two counts of assisting or encouraging the rape of a young woman.

Jailing the pair at Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Simon Hickey told Coleman: “You exploited her, facilitating these awful acts against her.

“The answer as to why you would do that was provided in the trial. You were in debt and the need for money reveals why you allowed (the girl) to be abused in this way.”

Muriel Coleman, who appeared at Durham Crown Court.Muriel Coleman, who appeared at Durham Crown Court.
Because Akhtar denied the charges, his victim was forced to give evidence.

She told the jury how she had kicked, punched and slapped Akhtar but he did not stop his assaults, instead telling her to “shut up” and that “men liked it”.

She also told how she felt pressured to walk two steps behind him so as not to rouse suspicion.

Akhtar attempted to bribe her by offering to buy her a puppy and claiming he would help her with her future career.

The teenager said the rapes were painful and made her angry but she felt powerless to stop Akhtar as she feared he would hit her.

“I must admit I was a bit scared that he might hit me for telling,” she said.

She added: “He started doing things that I didn’t like and he wouldn’t stop.”

The court heard Coleman rented a flat from Akhtar’s uncle and had not paid her rent for four months and owed £1,190 when the offences came to light in March 2013.

Coleman, 50, of Church Square, Brandon, County Durham, claimed she was in “zombie mode” when she took part in the sickening offences.

During the trial Akhtar attempted to blame Coleman, claiming the pair had a consensual sexual relationship – something Coleman denies – and that she turned nasty when he refused to loan her money.

John Wilkinson, for dad-of-three Akthar, said he maintains his denials and that his wife continues to support him.

Jonathan Devlin, for Coleman, said she was “hopelessly inadequate” and wished she had prevented what happened to the victim.

Read HERE

NE EDL Angel reports poppy wreaths dumped in Sunderland park

One of our own NE EDL Angels came across poppy wreaths dumped in a Sunderland park, she immediately took photo's and shared them with the other members of the EDL. She then contacted the media whilst others emailed Sunderland council to vent their disgust. Sunderland Echo has reported the story (see below) and we will update you with any reply received from Sunderland council.

FAMILIES of Sunderland’s war dead demanded an apology after council workers left poppy wreaths dumped in the corner of a park just hours before D-Day.

The wreaths, along with wooden crosses, taken from Mowbray Park’s War Memorial, were left outside a council gardening depot along with grass and hedge cuttings close to the Toward Road entrance.

Parents walking to the nearby play area were shocked to see the poppy wreaths left upside down on the ground.

While council bosses today said the poppies had only been removed temporarily to a council depot to allow for regular maintenance work, others have criticised the lack of respect shown during the clean-up.

Janice Murray, mum of Private Michael Tench, who died at the age of 18 in Iraq in 2007 while serving in The Light Infantry, said she had been left disgusted at the way the wreaths had been treated.

Private Tench’s name is among those listed on the war memorial wall at the park.

She said: “This is total disrespect. I’m absolutely furious and sickened.

“Even if workers are cleaning the area, they should have been courteous of the wreaths and crosses.

“Not even a child would heap them in with the waste.

“People travel far and wide to lay wreaths and crosses in the sacred area next to our memorial wall.

“They may be gone but should still be treated with dignity and respect.

“There should be a huge apology from whoever has done this. As for cleaning this area, it should be passed on to people that have respect for our fallen.

“Shame on the people or person responsible for this, I’m totally disgusted.”

Pictures of the scattered poppies were also posted across Facebook.

One comment said: “To see this makes me fume and cry at the same time.”

Another stated: “Surely they could have stored them in a more respectful way.”

Graham Hall, chairman of Sunderland’s Armed Forces Network, said: “I was contacted by a member of one of the families who had lost their son in a recent conflict.

“I went down to the Cenotaph to find many of the wreaths had been moved and later found them in the gardening staff yard.

“After returning yesterday morning, it has been explained to me that many of the wreaths had been removed because of the poor condition that they were in and those suitable were to be returned to the memorial.

“Unfortunately, they were stored outside in public view which may have given the impression of them being put with the waste.

“A lot of the wooden crosses which are made of balsa wood were rotten with all the personal details erased. It is normal throughout the year to remove wreaths that have suffered due to severe weather. Some wreaths have been returned but the badly damaged ones have been removed.

“Some personal photos were recovered from the wreaths by the park staff and I will be returning them to the families.

“It is unfortunate that the wreaths were left outside, as opposed to being stored inside which normally happens during this process, which may have seen to be disrespectful.

“But after talking to the staff and seeing those wreaths which were beyond repair, I’m convinced that the staff acted with the best intentions in wishing the memorial to be in the best condition for D-Day.

“I have spoken to the parks management and I will be working with them to adopt a new removal protocol so there is not a reoccurrence of this situation.

“In my opinion, there was no malice or disrespect intended and the staff have apologised and asked me to convey those apologies to the families and the armed forces community should any offence or upset have been caused.”

Councillor Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland city, said: “Poppy wreaths were temporarily removed from Burdon Road War Memorial to allow regular maintenance work.

“We are in regular contact with families and veterans groups concerned throughout the removal, storage and reinstatement of wreaths.”

 Read HERE

New move to close down Boosbeck Halal slaughterhouse

Motion to be tabled at Redcar and Cleveland Council planning meeting to "discontinue use" of Banaras Halal Meats abattoir in East Cleveland.

A new move to close down a Boosbeck abattoir is set to be put before councillors.

Councillor Dave Williams will table a motion to discontinue operations at the Banaras Halal Meats (BHM) slaughterhouse in Boosbeck, at Thursday’s regulatory committee meeting.

The £3m slaughterhouse has faced major opposition from locals after plans were unveiled in 2011 to revive the dormant facility.

Despite a two-year court battle, the site began operating last February.

Cllr Williams, an independent who represents the Westworth ward, said: “I am putting forward a Section 102 discontinuation of use order.

“The abattoir has been a nightmare for local people, the noise, the smell, the traffic.
"I’m getting calls as a councillor at 3am to 4am in the morning with complaints.
“Once I have tabled the motion, the planning committee will then discuss it and if they agree it will go to the Secretary of State for a decision.
"They are very rare - as far as I can see, there are only three or four that have been granted in the last ten years or so.
“It has been difficult to get this far - now I have the chance to argue the case.”

Helen McLuckie, Redcar and Cleveland Council’s cabinet member for highways, planning and transport, said: “Legal and planning officers have explored the issues surrounding the legislation and a motion will be considered by the regulatory committee on Thursday.”

Dozens of Boosbeck villagers are expected to attend the meeting, to be held at 10am at the new Redcar civic Heart building.

Resident Neville Brown, who lives on Oxford Street, close to the abattoir, said: “We have been battling for two-and-a-half years to get the council to listen to us and it has taken that time to get a motion before the planning committee.

“It will ask the council to discontinue use of the abattoir because of the affect it has been having on residents' lives.

“It is a 24-hour operation.
"The noise has been keeping people up at night.
"It has been a nightmare living with it in the village.”

Responding to complaints, Cllr McLuckie continued: “Planning enforcement and environmental protection teams have investigated a number of complaints but there is no evidence a statutory nuisance has occurred.”

Nobody at Banaras Halal Meats was available for comment.

Source: HERE