March 06, 2010

"Attack on Muslim community" "extreme and disportionate"

If you think that's a description of Israel's Operation Cast Lead, the assault on Gaza, you'd be close. It's actually a description of the way the UK judiciary has shown it's support for the racist war criminals of the State of Israel by sentencing protesters against Israel's war on Gaza to prison terms ranging from 8 months to 2½ years. Here's The Guardian:
MPs and protesters are stepping up their campaign against "extreme and disproportionate" sentences handed down to young Muslims involved in demonstrations against the Israeli invasion of Gaza last year.

There were 119 arrests after protests outside the Israeli embassy in London during which bottles and stones were thrown and a coffee shop was attacked.

Seventy-eight protesters were charged, most with violent disorder. So far 22 have been jailed for between eight months and two and half years, and more cases are due to come before the courts.

This week the families of those sentenced, the vast majority of whom are Muslim, met lawyers and MPs at the Commons to set out their concerns.

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour MP for Islington North who chaired the meeting, said that the sentences amounted to an attack on the Muslim community and the right to protest.

He said: "Some of the sentences that have been handed down to these young demonstrators are extraordinary and out of all proportion to the crimes committed. What possible justification can there be for handing down a year in prison for a 19-year-old lad, studying dentistry, who threw a plastic bottle in the direction of the Israeli Embassy?"

And only yesterday, the same Guardian newspaper was describing Israel's politicians as potential victims of legal action in the UK.

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