Pro-Palestinian activist who avoided prosecution after chanting 'I love the 7th of October' is Islamist refugee granted asylum in Britain

Daily Mail​

9 hours ago

A pro-Palestine activist who avoided prosecution after he chanted 'I love the 7th of October' is a Muslim refugee granted asylum in the UK, it emerged today.
Mohammad al-Mail, a 27-year-old Kuwaiti national granted refugee status in the UK in 2017, also shouted 'I like an organisation that starts with H' through a megaphone at an anti-Israel protest in Swiss Cottage, north-west London, last September.
Mr Al-Mail was arrested by police after the chants over alleged terrorism offences, but after eight months a decision was taken by the CPS not to charge him.
He is said to have avoided prosecution by telling officers that the organisation he claimed to love was actually the Home Office, and not terror group Hamas.
This is despite him operating a campaign group which states its aim is to achieve 'Islamic supremity' and which has criticised terror groups such as Al-Qaeda for failing to advance global jihad.
Meanwhile at the same rally, a Jewish counter-protester was also arrested for holding a placard mocking deaths during attacks involving explosive pagers in Lebanon.
The attack targeted Hezbollah members and leaders, and the placard depicted the leader of the proscribed terror group holding a pager, with the word 'beep' repeated three times. The man was charged over the incident in May, but the case has since been dropped.
Earlier this year, Mr Al-Mail appeared to make light of the accusations against him, telling an Arabic language podcast the case 'fell apart', the Telegraph reports.
He described his answer to police when asked what he meant by the letter H: 'Immediately, I answered, 'It could be the Home Office', you know, the ministry of the interior. 'I love the ministry of the interior', and so on.
'Truly, as the saying goes, 'The worst calamity is the one that makes you laugh'.
The Met referred the case twice to the CPS, but both times it decided not to press charges - reportedly due to the issue of it relying on 'speculation' to infer support for a proscribed terror organisation.
During the podcast, Mr Al-Mail told listeners to 'take advantage' of October 7, which saw 1,200 people killed by an Hamas incursion into Israel.
The resulting war has resulted in almost 57,000 Gazans being killed, many of whom civilians.
'Not every day is like October 7,' Mr Al-Mail added. 'If an opportunity arises, we must fully exploit it. If you strike, make it hurt.'
The refugee's views are reiterated by his campaign group Upper Hand Organization, which lists its 'pillars' as 'rightism' and 'Islamic Supremacy'.
The English version of his site reveals the group was founded in 2016 in Kuwait, before being banned.
It states: 'The Upper Hand Organization is a global movement dedicated to working with and for Muslims worldwide through all means and fields - committed to channeling resources toward strategic projects to achieve Islamic dominance.'
It adds that the group 'operates as an entity that asserts its responsibilities extend beyond national borders, with a revolutionary agenda grounded in Islam.'
In November, some two months after the march, Mr Al-Mail told his supporters he would surrender to police over the chants but told his followers to 'continue the path of Jihad', claiming peaceful followers of Islam are 'slaves and dwarves'.
He added: 'What is coming to you is terrifying – either our annihilation or yours.'
After leaving Kuwait, Mr Al-Mail was convicted of 13 offences including defaming the Emir and sentenced in his absence to 53 years in prison.
Claiming asylum, he said these were politically and religiously motivated and was granted allowed to remain in the UK on May 5 2017. He later received a partial pardon.
Shadow Policing Minister and Conservative MP Chris Philp told the Telegraph: 'The police must urgently re-investigate the incident with a view to re-arresting the man concerned'.
He added: 'I am deeply worried that someone came here, was granted asylum and then abused the UK's generosity by expressing extremist views. This is why our human rights and asylum laws need to be changed.'
Lord Walney, the Government's former extremism tsar, said the revelations are 'disturbing and raises serious questions for the Metropolitan Police'.
'The fact officers were apparently unaware of this open source material when they submitted the case to the Crown Prosecution Service suggests an alarming lack of rigour in their initial investigation,' he said.
'In light of this, it is vital that the police reopen the case to ensure national security can be protected.'
It is understood the CPS is 'urgently' reviewing the decision not to charge Mr Al-Mail.