22.03.2012

A tale of two states

Harry Paterson compares the treatment meted out to two bloggers for their 'grossly offensive' comments

No-one should be under any illusion regarding the increasingly oppressive nature of the UK state. The creeping criminalisation of previously legal protest action has been seen many times recently; students protesting against tuition fees and the politically motivated sentences handed down to those convicted of last summer’s riots being just two of the most obvious examples.

Things have taken a very sinister and outrageous turn, though, with the arrest of 19-year-old Azhar Ahmed. It is alleged the youth recently posted the following comments on his Facebook page (all blog comments reproduced in their original form):

“People gassin about the deaths of soldiers! What about the innocent familys who have been brutally killed. The women who have been raped. The children who have been sliced up! Your enemy’s were the Taliban not innocent harmless familys. All soldiers should die & go to hell! The lowlife fokkin scum! gotta problem go cry at your soliders grave & wish him hell because that where he is going.”

Strong words, to be sure, and undoubtedly offensive and upsetting to many, not least the bereaved families of serving soldiers. However, we will gloss over the tragic irony of his comments being lent substance by the rampage of a US serviceman which resulted in the deaths of 16 civilians, including nine children and three women. An irony further compounded by the motivation for his comments being the imbalance in the media coverage of casualties in Afghanistan. With blanket coverage given to the six recently killed British soldiers compared to the virtually non-existent acknowledgment of Afghan civilian casualties, it seems he at least has a point, however uncomfortable some might find his choice of words ...

But, be that as it may, the real concern here is that he was charged by West Yorkshire Police over those comments; not only that, but he was originally alleged to have committed a “racially aggravated public order offence”. It is difficult to see how his words, as reported, constitute racism in any way. Instead, significantly, and worryingly, his comments amount to an overtlypolitical statement. So it seems we have a state which now deploys the flimsiest of legislation to silence political dissent. Set in the context of vicious austerity measures and the increasingly totalitarian methods used to suppress and quell the resulting protests, this marks a new and very serious attack on civil liberties and personal freedom.

Maybe something of the obvious hypocrisy of the charge and the transparent political persecution it represents was a factor in it being withdrawn and replaced, when the youth appeared at Dewsbury magistrates court on March 20, with that of “posting a grossly offensive message on Facebook” - the clumsily worded replacement reeking of a kind of ‘make it up as you go along’ justice. Apparently, the offence is covered by the 2003 Communications Act. Ahmed has now been bailed and will stand trial under the new charge at Huddersfield magistrates court on July 3.

However, do not despair. It is notall bad news. It seems we also have another state in operation - one which works in parallel to the one experienced by the unfortunate teenager. Under that state it appears perfectly acceptable for serving, or former, soldiers and their friends to post the most noxious and racist filth on Facebook without incurring any sanctions.

On March 12, one Scott McHugh, who appears to be a serving soldier, posted on his Facebook wall, in response to Ahmed’s comments: “Azhar ahmed you sick horrible twisted paki bastard, how can you say that about our soldiers!”

Further investigations reveal conflicting reports of McHugh’s military status, with friends of the youth contacting this writer to claim he was actually discharged some three months previously. However, the Beirut daily,Al-Akhbar, reports an army spokesman stating McHugh was discharged as recently as last week, following the comments: “as a result of abnormal administrative action” he is “no longer a serving member of the army”, according to a British army spokesman.^[1]

To add yet further confusion, Liberal Conspiracy reports a ministry of defence spokesman as stating that McHugh had not been discharged.

In any event, McHugh’s remarks provoked comments from several of his friends on Facebook.

Leighanne Gillott: “ He’s disgusting and should be fucking hanged!! He won’t get away with it, locked up or not somebody will get him, he will get what he deserves!!x”

Lee Crisculo: “Fucking sick twat burn his eyes out smelly fukka”

Helen Massey Gordge: “Cheeky smelly pakki cunt wants tying to a tree n shooting ... Smelly fukker … Lock him up n throw the key away … Grrrhhhh ...skum ...!!”

Robbie Joedys Sampler: “He’s nothing he’s gunner die veryy soon.”

Danielle Lufc Harker: “Dirty smelly greasy bastard needs fuking torturing the dirty paki bastard!!”

The comments were subsequently removed and it appears that someone reported McHugh to Facebook’s administrators, as his defiant rejoinder, and that of a friend, seem to suggest.

Scott McHugh: “some body else had just reported my comment who ever it is Get back on ya Camel and f**k off!”

Danny Wheeler: “probably a paki shagger lad fuck em there shitbags for not admitting who it is!”

In contrast to the absence of any support for the source of McHugh’s fury, members of the far right were on hand to make their protest felt as Ahmed arrived at court and some three dozen members of the English Defence League, Casuals United and assorted neo-fash detritus brandished placards demanding the jailing of the hapless teen and of anyone else committing the heinous crime of insulting British troops. They were easily controlled by some 50 police officers, complete with four video vans.

The nature of these two connected but contrasting cases raises serious and disquieting questions. The obvious class spite of Ahmed’s arrest, contrasted with the pro-troops racism and bigotry of McHugh and his supporters, not to mention the clear and overt threats of violence and death directed at Ahmed, reflect well the current viciously reactionary period.

Welcome to justice and democracy, UK style. Right about now, I doubt I am the only one with a grim smile, fearing for the future while hearing Joe Strummer intoning, “Know your rights”...

This article appeared in its original form on Harry Paterson’s blog: http://harrypaterson.co.uk.

Notes

1. http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/british-soldier-discharged-after-saying-he-wanted-shoot-%E2%80%9Ctowel-heads%E2%80%9D.