Russian police detained around 25 gay rights activists who took part in an unsanctioned rally in St Petersburg on Saturday, according to Reuters witnesses.

A few dozen activists gathered at Palace Square on Saturday afternoon, defying a ban to hold the rally.

Organisers had said they would stage one-man protests to demand freedom of association after city authorities turned down their request to hold a parade.

Police detained campaigners who unfurled rainbow flags or held placards, dragging them into a police bus. There were no clashes between police and the activists.

Russia passed a law in 2013 banning the spreading of gay “propaganda”.

Last month, Russian police briefly detained British LGBT campaigner Peter Tatchell after he protested near the Kremlin in support of gay rights.

We have received a report of a mosque in Dewsbury having racist text spray-painted onto the windows. The graffiti was sprayed so that it was visible to those entering the mosque and clearly was meant to send a chilling message to the congregation of the mosque.

We will be contacting West Yorkshire police and offering a community impact statement on how the wider community is affected by the targeting of a mosque. The community impact statement we hope, will provide prosecutors with material that they can highlight in court when sentencing takes place to assess the wider impact of such actions.

If you have suffered anti-Muslim prejudice, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and we have passed on the relevant material to West Yorkshire Police and will work with them where required to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. Finally, we are also aware that the mosque is reviewing CCTV footage. This means that there is a real possibility of the perpetrators being brought to justice.

The post Dewsbury Mosque Has Racist Graffiti Scrawled Over It appeared first on TELL MAMA.

We have received a report of a mosque in Dewsbury having racist text spray-painted onto the windows. The graffiti was sprayed so that it was visible to those entering the mosque and clearly was meant to send a chilling message to the congregation of the mosque.

We will be contacting West Yorkshire police and offering a community impact statement on how the wider community is affected by the targeting of a mosque. The community impact statement we hope, will provide prosecutors with material that they can highlight in court when sentencing takes place to assess the wider impact of such actions.

If you have suffered anti-Muslim prejudice, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and we have passed on the relevant material to West Yorkshire Police and will work with them where required to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. Finally, we are also aware that the mosque is reviewing CCTV footage. This means that there is a real possibility of the perpetrators being brought to justice.

The post Dewsbury Mosque Has Racist Graffiti Scrawled Over It appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Aiden Fletcher received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting a Muslim doctor.

Fletcher, 23, headbutted Dr Syeda Jafari, who works in the accident and emergency department at the Queen’s Medical Centre. During the unprovoked racist assault, he told her “Go back to your own country”.

Dr Jafari was out with friends that evening, trying to locate the home of a friend who had recently lost her mother on October 29.

Andrew Conboy, prosecuting, said that Dr Jafari heard a man say ‘move out of the way’ as Mr Fletcher stood in front of her. Dr Jafari and her friends tried to leave the scene but the defendant grew more aggressive. Believing that she had insulted him, he assaulted her without provocation.

In mitigation, Serena Mandair said that Mr Fletcher had no racist views. And had been drinking that day after attending the funeral of a relative.

On February 19 the Nottingham Post reported that Aiden Fletcher faced the possibility of prison. That possibility turned into a six-month prison term, suspended for two years. The unemployed Mr Fletcher must complete 140 hours of unpaid work, as well as paying  compensation and £280 costs.

The assault left Dr Jafari with a concussion. Her father passed away worried about the safety of his daughter, as this was the first time she had faced such hatred and violence. She is now abroad mourning the deaths of two family members.

Through her own remarkable courage and support from our staff, she will donate the £500 costs to Tell MAMA. She told the Nottingham Post “It will go to a charity which heard about the case and which has been extremely supportive for the last six months. I am feeling a bit low because of the sentence”.

Dr Jafari’s kind gesture humbles our staff. We are very grateful for this donation. We will continue to support Dr Jafari beyond this trial outcome.  And we our glad that our continued support helped her through a very difficult six months.

The suspended sentence for Mr Fletcher is eyebrow-raising but may owe to the judge’s decision not to punish his children. He was convicted for affray in 2011 and will now face 40 sessions with a probation officer.

The post Aiden Fletcher avoids prison for headbutting Muslim doctor appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Aiden Fletcher received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting a Muslim doctor.

Fletcher, 23, headbutted Dr Syeda Jafari, who works in the accident and emergency department at the Queen’s Medical Centre. During the unprovoked racist assault, he told her “Go back to your own country”.

Dr Jafari was out with friends that evening, trying to locate the home of a friend who had recently lost her mother on October 29.

Andrew Conboy, prosecuting, said that Dr Jafari heard a man say ‘move out of the way’ as Mr Fletcher stood in front of her. Dr Jafari and her friends tried to leave the scene but the defendant grew more aggressive. Believing that she had insulted him, he assaulted her without provocation.

In mitigation, Serena Mandair said that Mr Fletcher had no racist views. And had been drinking that day after attending the funeral of a relative.

On February 19 the Nottingham Post reported that Aiden Fletcher faced the possibility of prison. That possibility turned into a six-month prison term, suspended for two years. The unemployed Mr Fletcher must complete 140 hours of unpaid work, as well as paying  compensation and £280 costs.

The assault left Dr Jafari with a concussion. Her father passed away worried about the safety of his daughter, as this was the first time she had faced such hatred and violence. She is now abroad mourning the deaths of two family members.

Through her own remarkable courage and support from our staff, she will donate the £500 costs to Tell MAMA. She told the Nottingham Post “It will go to a charity which heard about the case and which has been extremely supportive for the last six months. I am feeling a bit low because of the sentence”.

Dr Jafari’s kind gesture humbles our staff. We are very grateful for this donation. We will continue to support Dr Jafari beyond this trial outcome.  And we our glad that our continued support helped her through a very difficult six months.

The suspended sentence for Mr Fletcher is eyebrow-raising but may owe to the judge’s decision not to punish his children. He was convicted for affray in 2011 and will now face 40 sessions with a probation officer.

The post Aiden Fletcher avoids prison for headbutting Muslim doctor appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Release from the Crown Prosecution Service

Roy Wakefield, 63, was sentenced today at Bexley Magistrates’ Court for two counts of using threatening, abusive or
insulting words to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The offences occurred on 19^th December 2015 in the Erith area. The victim in the case is a 17-year-old girl who is partially sighted and is assisted by a white cane and assist dog.

This was prosecuted as a disability hate crime and therefore Wakefield’s sentenced was uplifted from 12 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months to 20 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £150 compensation to the victim and complete 150 hours of unpaid work. A restraining order was imposed.

CPS London reviewing lawyer Toyin Odumade said:

“Roy Wakefield purposefully targeted a young and vulnerable girl who was merely waiting at a bus stop on the way to meet friends.”

“Wakefield began aggressively shouting abuse at the victim who recognised his voice. She felt frightened and alone and was very upset by the incident.”

“Wakefield’s shameful behaviour clearly showed his hostility towards the victim’s disability and we were able to ask the court to increase his sentence accordingly.”

“We were able to assist the victim in giving evidence in court by applying for special measures which allowed her to give evidence via video link from a different room and also to have her assist dog with her while giving evidence.”

“The CPS is committed to tackling disability hate crime and to supporting victims through the prosecution process.”

The post Crown Prosecution Success – Man Sentenced for Shouting Abusing at Vulnerable Girl appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Release from the Crown Prosecution Service

Roy Wakefield, 63, was sentenced today at Bexley Magistrates’ Court for two counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The offences occurred on 19^th December 2015 in the Erith area. The victim in the case is a 17-year-old girl who is partially sighted and is assisted by a white cane and assist dog.

This was prosecuted as a disability hate crime and therefore Wakefield’s sentenced was uplifted from 12 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months to 20 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £150 compensation to the victim and complete 150 hours of unpaid work. A restraining order was imposed.

CPS London reviewing lawyer Toyin Odumade said:

“Roy Wakefield purposefully targeted a young and vulnerable girl who was merely waiting at a bus stop on the way to meet friends.”

“Wakefield began aggressively shouting abuse at the victim who recognised his voice. She felt frightened and alone and was very upset by the incident.”

“Wakefield’s shameful behaviour clearly showed his hostility towards the victim’s disability and we were able to ask the court to increase his sentence accordingly.”

“We were able to assist the victim in giving evidence in court by applying for special measures which allowed her to give evidence via video link from a different room and also to have her assist dog with her while giving evidence.”

“The CPS is committed to tackling disability hate crime and to supporting victims through the prosecution process.”

The post Crown Prosecution Success – Man Sentenced for Shouting Abusing at Vulnerable Girl appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Release from the Crown Prosecution Service

Roy Wakefield, 63, was sentenced today at Bexley Magistrates’ Court for two counts of using threatening, abusive or
insulting words to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The offences occurred on 19^th December 2015 in the Erith area. The victim in the case is a 17-year-old girl who is partially sighted and is assisted by a white cane and assist dog.

This was prosecuted as a disability hate crime and therefore Wakefield’s sentenced was uplifted from 12 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months to 20 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £150 compensation to the victim and complete 150 hours of unpaid work. A restraining order was imposed.

CPS London reviewing lawyer Toyin Odumade said:

“Roy Wakefield purposefully targeted a young and vulnerable girl who was merely waiting at a bus stop on the way to meet friends.”

“Wakefield began aggressively shouting abuse at the victim who recognised his voice. She felt frightened and alone and was very upset by the incident.”

“Wakefield’s shameful behaviour clearly showed his hostility towards the victim’s disability and we were able to ask the court to increase his sentence accordingly.”

“We were able to assist the victim in giving evidence in court by applying for special measures which allowed her to give evidence via video link from a different room and also to have her assist dog with her while giving evidence.”

“The CPS is committed to tackling disability hate crime and to supporting victims through the prosecution process.”

The post Crown Prosecution Success – Man Sentenced for Shouting Abusing at Vulnerable Girl appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Release from the Crown Prosecution Service

Roy Wakefield, 63, was sentenced today at Bexley Magistrates’ Court for two counts of using threatening, abusive or
insulting words to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The offences occurred on 19^th December 2015 in the Erith area. The victim in the case is a 17-year-old girl who is partially sighted and is assisted by a white cane and assist dog.

This was prosecuted as a disability hate crime and therefore Wakefield’s sentenced was uplifted from 12 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months to 20 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £150 compensation to the victim and complete 150 hours of unpaid work. A restraining order was imposed.

CPS London reviewing lawyer Toyin Odumade said:

“Roy Wakefield purposefully targeted a young and vulnerable girl who was merely waiting at a bus stop on the way to meet friends.”

“Wakefield began aggressively shouting abuse at the victim who recognised his voice. She felt frightened and alone and was very upset by the incident.”

“Wakefield’s shameful behaviour clearly showed his hostility towards the victim’s disability and we were able to ask the court to increase his sentence accordingly.”

“We were able to assist the victim in giving evidence in court by applying for special measures which allowed her to give evidence via video link from a different room and also to have her assist dog with her while giving evidence.”

“The CPS is committed to tackling disability hate crime and to supporting victims through the prosecution process.”

The post Crown Prosecution Success – Man Sentenced for Shouting Abusing at Vulnerable Girl appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Merseyside Police reached out to Tell MAMA following a violent and unprovoked assault on a Muslim woman in the Everton area of Merseyside.

The 38-year-old, who wears the hijab and is of Arab descent, had passed a children’s play area on route to a supermarket at around 8pm on February 11. She noticed two white men stood near to the junction of Ullswater Street.

One of the men shouted racist abuse at her which was anti-migrant in nature. The second man then approached the woman, grabbed her hijab and punched her repeatedly in the face. Both men then left the scene.

The vicious assault left the woman with bruising and swelling to her face. Her fractured cheekbone will require surgery to repair. The attack left the woman feeling dazed, hurt and in shock.

Staff from Tell MAMA continue to offer further support to the woman. Merseyside Police released a public appeal and e-fit of one of the suspects on February 19.

Tell MAMA and Merseyside Police have been working together to support the victim. We are pleased that in a case as serious as this she had the confidence to contact the police.

Although physical attacks such as this are somewhat rare, it is essential that they are reported to the Police or Tell MAMA so that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

If you have been targeted with anti-Muslim hostility you can call us in confidence on 0800 456 1226 or email us at info@tellmamauk.org.

Anyone with information about the assault can contact Merseyside Police’s SIGMA team on 0151 777 4078 or the confidential Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.

The post Merseyside Police investigate unprovoked racist assault on Muslim woman appeared first on TELL MAMA.