‘Hell for soldiers’ Facebook troll keeps freedom

Nathalie Taylor, 40, mother of Corporal Jake Hartley, read a message which said soldiers should “die and go to hell” less than 24 hours after learning her son had died.

The man who posted the message, Azhar Ahmed, 20, was yesterday given a two-year community order after he was convicted last month of sending a grossly offensive message.

He posted the comment just two days after six soldiers, five from 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, were killed.

Magistrates in Huddersfield heard that Ahmed, of Dewsbury, who claimed on his profile to have studied at Guantanamo Bay, posted in response to messages of sympathy for the fallen soldiers.

One of the six who lost his life in the March 6 attack was Corporal Hartley, 20, of Holmfirth, who died just four days before his 21st birthday.

His distressed mother contacted police in the early hours of March 9 to say she had seen the message.

District Judge Jane Goodwin told Ahmed: “The message you sent was a derogatory, offensive and defamatory remark.

“With regard to the harm it caused, you posted the message in retaliation to messages of sympathy.

“With freedom of speech comes responsibilities and you failed to live up to them.

“You thought it would be seen by your 600 Facebook friends. In reality it was probably seen by many more.

“A mother of one of the deceased soldiers who saw the post was no doubt highly upset by it.”

The court heard a man named Samaer Ahmed had received racist calls on the evening of March 9 as some had wrongly believed he was the perpetrator.

Ahmed’s trial last month heard that one woman, Ashleigh Craig, who recently lost two friends in the Afghan conflict, saw the story on her Facebook and contacted police.

In her statement, she said: “It really upset me. I said he should be careful with leaving comments on Facebook and the only reason he is able to express himself so freely is because soldiers have died for his freedom.”

The court was told Ahmed also had a picture of a dead Afghan family on his Facebook wall along with a post which said “Islam shall dominate the World”.

Ahmed claimed at his trial that he was merely providing a political view. He said: “I realised the upset I had caused almost straight away. It was only up for 10 to 15 minutes before I took it down.

“As soon as I realised I had upset people I immediately sent them private messages to apologise.”

He was given a community order and must complete a 50-day “Think Again” course. He must complete 240 hours of unpaid work and pay £300 costs.

Around 50 far-Right activists protested outside the court.