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Man who released rats outside Sheffield mosque four times avoids prison

Man who released rats outside Sheffield mosque four times avoids prison

ITV News7 days ago
A man who released rats near a mosque in a series of racist hate crimes has avoided being sent to prison.
Edmund Fowler, 66, took wild rodents to Sheffield Grand Mosque on four separate occasions between May and June.
In CCTV footage captured outside the mosque he could be seen lifting a cage from the boot of his car before freeing the animals onto the pavement.
Mobile phone footage filmed by Fowler recorded him talking to the rats, saying "guess where you're going", "say bye bye" and "I'll point you in the right direction".
Fowler, of Skelwith Drive, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to four counts of racially aggravated harassment at Sheffield Magistrates' Court.
An anti-hate crime charity said the incident was "highly dehumanising".
Fowler was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and banned from going near a mosque and to certain parts of the city for 18 months.
The CCTV footage played in court showed Fowler parking his Audi near the mosque on Grimesthorpe Road and shouting racist insults at people entering the building.
He had caused widespread "upset and shock" within the community, the court heard.
In a victim impact statement, the mosque manager said: "It is evident people using the mosque are Muslim.
"They are scared of further harassment and are now too scared to come to the mosque."
The court heard Fowler accepted his behaviour was "appalling" but gave no motive.
He may have had a mental breakdown as a result of the pressures of caring for his wife, who has breast cancer, the court was told.
Chair of the bench, Suzanne Irish-Deverill, told Fowler she was "disgusted" by the footage and that his crimes were "pre-planned on multiple occasions".
She added: "You also had the audacity to record it yourself. It has had significant impact and caused shock and distress.
"People are entitled to travel to a place of worship without being racially or religiously harassed - it is a hate crime."
Iman Atta, of the anti-hate crime charity Tell Mama, said it had recorded 20 incidents of Islamic buildings being targeted in the last six months.
She said: "This specific targeting of a mosque and the release of rats in itself is highly dehumanizing.
"It's highly stressful and distressing for communities. It's not just a targeting of an institution - it's the impact it has on the congregation... a congregation feeling that this is intentional harassment that they're going through on an ongoing basis."
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Man decapitated wife, 17, and paraded her head down street
Man decapitated wife, 17, and paraded her head down street

Daily Record

timea day ago

  • Daily Record

Man decapitated wife, 17, and paraded her head down street

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT - Sajjad Heydari was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in Iran for the murder of his 17-year-old wife Mona Heydari, who he decapitated and paraded around the streets A man who beheaded his wife and paraded her head down the street was handed a mere eight-year prison sentence in Iran. He avoided a harsher punishment after her parents reportedly declined to invoke Iran's Islamic law of retribution. ‌ Mona Heydari, a mother of one, was just 17 when she was dragged from a car outside her family home and killed in February 2022, as per court proceedings. Her husband Sajjad Heydari, and his brother Heydar, executed the horrific attack in Ahvaz, the capital of the southwestern Khuzestan Province. ‌ The leniency of the sentence was due to Mona's parents having "pardoned" him for the murder rather than seeking retribution, according to a judiciary spokesman. ‌ Mona, who was married off at the tender age of 12, initially fled her abusive husband and escaped to Turkey with another man, the court heard. Heydari had reportedly denied Mona's pleas for a divorce. Her father, known as Javid in local reports, eventually located her and convinced her to return to Iran, reports the Express. As reported by the BBC, her father allegedly used Interpol to locate his daughter and returned her to her violent husband, where her spouse - who is also her cousin - murdered her, claiming she had dishonoured him. ‌ Disturbing video evidence, which we have chosen not to show, emerged depicting the murderous husband holding his wife's severed head in one hand and a large knife in the other after killing her. Court spokesperson Massud Setayeshi announced Heydari was handed a seven and a half year sentence for murder, with an additional eight months for intentional assault. His brother, who disposed of his sister-in-law's decapitated body, received a 45-month prison sentence for complicity in intentional homicide. ‌ The court heard how the victim's father justified marrying her off at 12 to a relative, claiming the violence she experienced in the relationship was normal. Mona was only 14 when she gave birth to their son. The father lauded the husband they chose for her as a good spouse, emphasising his work ethic and provision of the 'best life' for his daughter. Javid told the court: "She was not forced to marry, and in fact, the husband provided her with the very best of lives. ‌ "It's true, there was fighting between them, and sometimes there was violence, and she would return home, but she only stayed for two or three days, and then he would pick her up, and life would return to normal. "These fights between husband and wife are completely normal, and I don't think there was a problem as she did not ask for a divorce." Mona's father admitted, in retrospect, she may have been too young for marriage, but insisted: "We got a certificate of confirmation that she was physically old enough to marry, and there was no physical problem in the relationship." ‌ The family claimed the husband felt humiliated and insulted by his wife escaping to Turkey with another man. The Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported the victim was forced to marry her cousin at the age of 12. They also disclosed the young girl supposedly suffered domestic abuse and whenever she expressed a wish to divorce her husband, her family put pressure on her to return home for the sake of their child, who was born when she was just 14. ‌ Local media reported the husband's brother wrapped the girl's body in a blanket and dumped it, while the husband displayed his wife's head. In the video, the suspect is seen smiling widely as he clutches the teenager's head, walking past local residents. Meanwhile, the state-run news site Rokna was reportedly closed down for publishing the story and the footage at the time of the incident. ‌ The NCRI's Women's Committee stated: "Not a week goes by without some form of honour killing making headlines. The clerical regime's failure to criminalise these murders has led to a catastrophic rise in honour killings. "In a report published in 2019, the state-run Sharq daily newspaper wrote that an annual average of 375 to 450 honour killings are recorded in Iran. The murders are more prevalent [the areas of] in Khuzestan, Kurdistan, Ilam, and Sistan and Baluchestan. "Some women's rights activists believe that honour killings in Iran are officially justified as 'family differences'. "The catastrophic rise in honour killings in Iran is rooted in misogyny and the patriarchal culture institutionalised in the laws and society. Although the father, brother, or husband holds the knife, sickle, or rifle, the murders are rooted in the medieval outlook of the ruling regime. "The clerical regime's laws officially denote that women are second-degree citizens owned by men."

Woman forced to marry husband at 12 decapitated at 17 as he walked around with her head
Woman forced to marry husband at 12 decapitated at 17 as he walked around with her head

Daily Mirror

timea day ago

  • Daily Mirror

Woman forced to marry husband at 12 decapitated at 17 as he walked around with her head

WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: Mona Heydari, a mother of one, was murdered in the street outside her family home in Iran in a sickening attack carried out by her husband and his brother A man who beheaded his wife and paraded her head down the street was handed a mere eight-year prison sentence in Iran. He avoided a harsher punishment after her parents reportedly declined to invoke Iran's Islamic law of retribution. ‌ Mona Heydari, a mother of one, was just 17 when she was dragged from a car outside her family home and killed in February 2022, according to court proceedings. Her husband Sajjad Heydari, and his brother Heydar, committed the horrific attack in Ahvaz, the capital of the southwestern Khuzestan Province. ‌ A judiciary spokesperson stated the leniency of the sentence was due to Mona's parents having "pardoned" him for the murder rather than seeking retribution. ‌ Mona, who was married off at the tender age of 12, initially escaped her abusive husband and fled to Turkey with another man, the court heard. Heydari had reportedly denied Mona's pleas for a divorce. Her father, identified as Javid in local reports, eventually located her and persuaded her to return to Iran, reports the Express. According to the BBC, her father allegedly used Interpol to locate his daughter and brought her back to her violent husband, where her spouse - who is also her cousin - murdered her, claiming she had dishonoured him. ‌ Disturbing video evidence, which The Express has chosen not to show, emerged depicting the murderous husband holding his wife's severed head in one hand and a large knife in the other after killing her. Court spokesperson Massud Setayeshi announced that Heydari was handed a seven and a half year sentence for murder, with an additional eight months for intentional assault. His brother, who disposed of his sister-in-law's decapitated body, received a 45-month prison sentence for complicity in intentional homicide. ‌ The court heard how the victim's father defended marrying her off at 12 to a relative, arguing that the violence she endured in the relationship was normal. Mona was only 14 when she gave birth to their son. Her father lauded the husband they chose for her as a good partner, praising his work ethic and provision of the 'best life' for his daughter. Javid told the court: "She was not forced to marry, and in fact, the husband provided her with the very best of lives. ‌ "It's true, there was fighting between them, and sometimes there was violence, and she would return home, but she only stayed for two or three days, and then he would pick her up, and life would return to normal. "These fights between husband and wife are completely normal, and I don't think there was a problem as she did not ask for a divorce." In retrospect, Mona's father admitted she may have been too young for marriage, but insisted: "We got a certificate of confirmation that she was physically old enough to marry, and there was no physical problem in the relationship." ‌ The family claimed the husband felt humiliated and insulted after his wife fled to Turkey with another man. The Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported the victim was forced to marry her cousin at the age of 12. They also disclosed the young girl supposedly suffered domestic abuse and whenever she expressed a wish to divorce her husband, her family urged her to return home for the sake of their child, who was born when she was just 14. ‌ Local media reported the husband's brother wrapped the girl's body in a blanket and dumped it, whilst the husband displayed his wife's head. In the video, the suspect is seen smiling widely as he clutches the teenager's head, walking past local residents. Meanwhile, the state-run news site Rokna was reportedly closed down for publishing the story and the footage at the time of the incident. ‌ The NCRI's Women's Committee stated: "Not a week goes by without some form of honour killing making headlines. The clerical regime's failure to criminalise these murders has led to a catastrophic rise in honour killings. "In a report published in 2019, the state-run Sharq daily newspaper wrote that an annual average of 375 to 450 honour killings are recorded in Iran. The murders are more prevalent [the areas of] in Khuzestan, Kurdistan, Ilam, and Sistan and Baluchestan. "Some women's rights activists believe that honour killings in Iran are officially justified as 'family differences'. "The catastrophic rise in honour killings in Iran is rooted in misogyny and the patriarchal culture institutionalised in the laws and society. Although the father, brother, or husband holds the knife, sickle, or rifle, the murders are rooted in the medieval outlook of the ruling regime. "The clerical regime's laws officially denote that women are second-degree citizens owned by men."

He survived a mass execution at 17. Now he's fighting disinformation and denialism.
He survived a mass execution at 17. Now he's fighting disinformation and denialism.

NBC News

time2 days ago

  • NBC News

He survived a mass execution at 17. Now he's fighting disinformation and denialism.

SREBRENICA, Bosnia — Nedzad Avdic stood on a gravel plateau with four men and boys with their hands tied behind their backs, preparing for death. Just 17, Avdic had been captured by Bosnian Serb forces days earlier. Now, he stood yards from an execution squad. Avdic said he heard shots, felt sharp pain in his right side and right arm and blacked out. When he woke up, more prisoners were being lined up for execution. When the small truck that brought him to the site drove away, Avdic and another wounded man escaped in the darkness. After walking to the woods for days, they crossed into Muslim-controlled central Bosnia. Last week, Avdic recounted his experience to members of the German parliament at an event in Berlin marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of the United Nations-protected 'safe area' of Srebrenica. Two international courts have ruled that Bosnian Serbs' systematic killing of male Bosnian Muslim prisoners — at least 7,000 in total — was the first genocide in Europe since World War II. The following day, members of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD party, argued in parliament that the mass killings did not constitute genocide. 'The Serbs shot men there, but generally spared women and children,' Alexander Wolf said in a speech. A second AfD member, Martin Sichert, invoked a conspiracy theory, warning that Muslims were waging a 'birth jihad' in Germany, a reference to Muslim immigrants' someday outnumbering Germans. 'Srebrenica reminds us to end multiculturalism before it's too late,' Sichert warned. As disinformation spreads online, denialism about war crimes — both past and ongoing— is growing increasingly common worldwide, experts warn. From current conflicts in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza to past atrocities in Syria, Bosnia and Rwanda, as well as the Holocaust, basic facts are now disputed or dismissed. Denialism is proving politically profitable, as well. In February, the AfD won the second most seats in Germany's parliament, the best showing by a far-right party since World War II. In Bosnia, a local Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, has gained support by spreading conspiracy theories about Srebrenica, calling it 'an arranged tragedy.' He dismisses the identification of 6,981 victims — part of the largest DNA identification project in history— as a hoax. Dodik's office and the AfD did not immediately respond to requests for comment or proof of their claims. At a conference in Srebrenica marking the 30th anniversary of the mass killings here, the heads of the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda and the Auschwitz-Birkenau and Stutthof concentration camp museums in Poland warned that spreading lies online about war crimes has also become financially profitable. War crimes denialism generates so much traffic online that making money — not political or ideological gain — appears to motivate some of its purveyors. At one point, the directors discussed whether better influencers might help, and several of them agreed that they could. Avdic is determined to be one of them. As denialism spreads, he is more determined than ever to use what is left of his life to speak for the men and boys who died beside him on that gravel 30 years ago. 'It's becoming more aggressive day by day,' he said, referring to denialism. 'You have to know that we are all foreign bodies on this Earth, and we will all evaporate naturally sooner or later.' A U.N.-protected 'safe area' I first met Avdic 30 years ago covering the war in Bosnia as a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor. After the fall of Srebrenica, rumors spread that Bosnian Muslim men were describing mass executions. Avdic, then a shell-shocked teenager whose father was later found in a mass grave, was one of nine men who told me they had survived mass executions. When I later visited the gravel plateau beside an earthen dam in the village of Petkovci, I found two human femurs. Avdic and his father were among the roughly 10,000 Bosnian Muslim men who fled Srebrenica on foot when Bosnian Serb forces attacked in July 1995. The surrounded town had been declared an internationally protected 'safe area,' but the United States, Europe and 600 Dutch UN peacekeepers did little to protect it Women, children and elderly men took refuge at a large battery factory that Dutch peacekeepers had turned into their main base. And men, most of them unarmed, set off through the woods on a 60-mile trek to Muslim-controlled central Bosnia. When Serb forces attacked the column, Avdic and his father were separated in the chaos. 'I lost him,' Avdic recalled. 'I lost him immediately.' He continued walking with strangers but was eventually captured. Two days later, he and other men were taken to the gravel plateau, and the executions began. Needing to speak For the next 12 years, Avdic testified at war crimes trials about the executions under a pseudonym and lived far from Srebrenica, fearing for his safety. In 2007, he returned to Srebrenica, his hometown. He and other Bosnian Muslims felt a duty to return to the area and preserve its Muslim community. Avdic, who had grown up in a village outside the town and also lost four uncles and three cousins in the killings, found being in Srebrenica comforting. 'I have less nightmares,' he said, shrugging his shoulders. 'I cannot explain it.' In 2014, when he visited the execution site during an event with mothers of the victims, he was filled with a desire to speak publicly about the mass killing he survived. 'When I came to the place, something forced me to say something; I felt a strong need to talk,' he said. 'Words started to flow, something stronger than me.' He met his wife, Elvisa, a Bosnian Muslim survivor whose uncle and cousin also died in the executions, in Srebrenica in 2008. The following year, they married. Today, Nedzad works as a manager at a company in Srebrenica that produces parts for luxury car interiors. Elvisa works at a local meteorological station. They have three daughters who attend local school alongside Serb children. Serbs and Muslims coexist but generally don't discuss the war. 'Hatred destroys, first of all, those who hate,' Avdic said. In recent years, Avdic has given dozens of speeches about the massacres in multiple countries and called for the protection of civilians in Ukraine and Syria. Speaking about Srebrenica is difficult but cathartic. 'It was my choice to go to Berlin,' he said. 'It is not something that I wish. It is emotional, and it is difficult for me.' Local Bosnian Muslims have transformed the cavernous former car battery factory that Dutch U.N. peacekeepers used as a base into a museum documenting the genocide. Across the street, the headstones of the thousands of Muslim men and boys killed in the massacres cover a lush green field and hillside. In recent years, though, Muslims have slowly left Srebrenica, many of them citing economic and safety concerns. Once a majority-Muslim town, Srebrenica is now roughly half-Serb, half-Muslim. Elvisa, Avdic's wife, said she worries about her children's future. 'I was 13 years old then in 1995. My daughter is now 13 years old,' she said. 'Now, I'm more emotional about that time. When we are older, we care more and we feel more.' 'Our grandmother was killed,' she added. 'They cut her throat.' Denial and threats Avdic said provocations still happen, including when a local priest once played Serb nationalist songs to taunt Muslim residents. 'He will die with his evil,' Avdic said of the priest. As denialism spreads, Serb nationalists have grown more defiant. In nearby towns, Avdic is sometimes recognized and mocked by them. 'I'm not afraid of them,' he said, though he acknowledged the danger. 'You never know what could happen, because I'm a witness.' Avdic and his wife are torn. Leaving Srebrenica might be better for their children, but Avdic believes it is his duty to raise his family here and speak for the men and boys who died beside him. 'I will die proud,' he said. 'And I believe my children will be proud they were born here.'

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