Man to appear in court over ‘Punish a Muslim’ letters
A 35-year old man has been charged in connection with the so-called ‘Punish a Muslim Day’ letters following an intelligence-led operation by counter terrorism officers.
David Parnham was arrested on Tuesday (June 12) in Lincoln by officers from the North East Counter Terrorism Unit (NECTU), supported by Lincolnshire Police.
He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday, where he faces 14 charges including soliciting to murder, sending a substance with the intention to induce belief in a person that it is a noxious substance and bomb hoax.
Muslims and mosques across the UK received the letters, which offered points for various attacks on Muslims, from removing a woman’s hijab to torturing an individual using electrocution, that took place on April 3 this year.
The letters led to a number of ‘#DayofSolidarity’ events in London, Manchester and Birmingham to show opposition to the threats.
A NECTU spokesperson said: “We remain grateful for the discretion and support we have had from victims as we try to minimise any further impact of these communications. We would also ask again that people are mindful of anything they post online to avoid comprising the investigation in any way.
“We recognise the distress and offence communications of this nature can cause and the impact they have within our communities.
“Those affected by hate crime can rest assured that we and our partners take such investigations extremely seriously and are avidly committed to seeking justice in all circumstances.”
Iman A’tta, director of Anti-Muslim attack charity TellMama, said: “We warmly welcome the charging decision that has been made on 14 separate offences regarding the ‘Punish a Muslim Day’ and relevant campaigns.
“Clearly, everyone must be assumed to be innocent and have their day in court, though this is a significant development in what has been a difficult period for Muslim communities who have received such letters.
“The campaigns caused anger, dismay and fear within some sections of Muslim communities and we will do all we can to assist the police and counter terrorism officers where we can.
“In particular, many Muslim women approached us fearful of going about their everyday business on April 3, 2018, showing the community impacts of hate.”
