A man who daubed a housing block in London’s Shadwell with homophobic graffiti has been jailed for eight weeks.
Mashudur Rahman, 22, had sprayed anti-gay and racist graffiti around the site seventy times last year before being arrested on 28 September.
The council for Tower Hamlets, which is one of the most deprived boroughs in the country, said it worked in partnership with housing managers EastendHomes and the police to identify Rahman.
He has been given an eight week custodial sentence for nine counts of criminal damage in a sentencing at Thames Magistrates Court.
The council said he had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges in a hearing at Stratford Magistrates Court on 3 February, and was fined £2,000 in costs.
The court also heard a number of witness statements which described the alarm and distress caused by the graffiti, which contained numerous homophobic references...
Jack Gilbert, Co-chair of Rainbow Hamlets, the LGBT Forum for Tower Hamlets, said: “We welcome this conviction. In particular we are pleased that the Court recognised that these were offences motivated by hatred of LGBT people and reflected that in its sentence. This sends a clear message: Homophobic crime in Tower Hamlets will not be tolerated.
“Offences like these cause considerable worry and distress to LGBT people and could well encourage others if not addressed swiftly. We are obviously concerned that the incidents took place so frequently and over so long a period. We will be inviting East End Homes, the police and the council to participate in a review of the case to ensure better practices are put in place for the future.”
Shame the sentence was not longer.
0 comments:
Post a Comment