Extremist fined £50 for burning replica poppies

Emdadur Choudhury, 26, a member of Muslims Against Crusades (MAC), was guilty of a “calculated and deliberate” insult to the dead and those who mourn them when he burned two large plastic poppies during a two-minute silence on November 11, District Judge Howard Riddle said.

Members of MAC were heard chanting “British soldiers burn in hell” before the poppy-burning incident near the Royal Albert Hall in west London, Belmarsh Magistrates heard.

“The two-minute chanting, when others were observing a silence, followed by a burning of the symbol of remembrance was a calculated and deliberate insult to the dead and those who mourn or remember them,” District Judge Riddle said in a ruling given at Woolwich Crown Court.

Mohammad Haque, 30, of Mace Street, Bethnal Green, east London, a fellow MAC member, was found not guilty of the same public order offence.

Choudhury, of Hunton Street, Spitalfields, east London, had denied a charge under Section 5 of the Public Order Act of burning the poppies in a way that was likely to cause “harassment, harm or distress” to those who witnessed it.

The court heard that the offence was committed as rival protests between the MAC and the English Defence League (EDL) took place at Kensington Gore in west London.

Tony Kibble, the grandson of a Second World War soldier, told the court that he felt “sick inside” when he witnessed the poppy- burning.

Judge Riddle said the ceasefire at 11am on November 11 1918 had “huge significance” for people in Britain and was seen as marking the end of a “terrible war” in which millions died.

“The act of remembrance has come to include those who have died in subsequent wars and conflicts. The two minutes’ silence remains widely respected,” he said in his ruling.

“Even now the business of the courts, and indeed other everyday life, usually comes to a standstill at 11 o’clock on November 11.”

He said the poppy was a “vivid” symbol of the trenches of Flanders where many of the deaths in the First World War occurred.

“No doubt the event means more to some people than others and no doubt it symbolises different things to different people,” he went on.

“However it is undoubtedly the case that, for a large section of the population, remembering those who have died in the service of their country is of genuine significance. The two minutes’ silence is seen as a mark of respect.

“Against that background, interrupting the two minutes’ silence by chanting ‘British soldiers burn in hell’, followed by the burning of poppies, is behaviour that is bound to be seen as insulting.”

Judge Riddle said European human rights law allowed everyone the right to freedom of expression.

But he said this freedom was not unlimited.

“In my view, the rights of others includes the right to express publicly support, sympathy and remembrance for the Armed Forces,” he said.

He described Mr Kibble as an “apparently mild-mannered” man who had impressed him as a member of the public with “typical feelings” about Remembrance Day.

Neither man was present at the court to hear the ruling.

Daniel Breger, defending, said Choudhury was a married man with two children who worked part-time. He said his wages were £480 a month, and he received working tax credit of £240 a month, child tax credit of £432 a month and child benefit of £120 a month. Choudhury’s total monthly income was £1,272, he said.

Choudhury was ordered to pay a £50 fine along with a £15 victim surcharge by the court.