Three men have been jailed after becoming the first to be convicted of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation for handing out a leaflet calling for gay people to be executed.

Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed gave out the leaflet entitled 'The Death Penalty?' It showed an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and quoted Islamic texts that said capital punishment was the only way to rid society of homosexuality. Ihjaz Ali was sentenced to two years in prison, while Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed were both sentenced to 15 months.

Sentencing the men, Judge John Burgess, Recorder of Derby, told them: “You have been convicted of intending to stir up hatred. It follows that your intention was to do great harm in a peaceful community.”

Stonewall has welcomed the sentences. Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive, said: ‘Gay people in Derby – and their friends and families – will feel relieved to see these extremists kept away from the community that they terrified with their deeply offensive and threatening leaflets. This whole case vindicates Stonewall’s long fight to secure specific legal protection for gay people against incitement to hatred.’

Stonewall led lobbying to secure amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 that extended existing protections against incitement to hatred on the grounds of race or religion to sexual orientation. The relevant amendments are in Section 76 and Schedule 16 of the Act, and Part 3A of the Public Order Act 1986.

Politics