This story illustrates how unnecessary our new "thought crime" legislation is. Abu Hamza was mainly guilty of soliciting to murder, a very old offence. The "racial hatred" and possession of material "of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" charges will have made no difference to his sentence.
However, the real problem now is that prosecuting this man ostensibly for what he said (and actually for coming to the attention of the Murdoch media to which our Government is in thrall) will create new ethnic tensions. Nick Griffin was acquitted; Abu Hamza convicted. Extremists will claim that British juries favour White Fascists over Muslims and use that allegation to whip up trouble. How much better to have prosecuted neither of them until they actually DID something. The Americans claim to have evidence that Abu Hamza DID do something. How much more practical to have extradited him to be dealt with by their courts.
Telegraph | News | Abu Hamza guilty of race hate charges
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
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1 comment:
That's what I don't understand: why we didn't just boot him out and let the Americans deal with him? Problem solved...
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