Street preacher who lost Spectator libel case to challenge High Court ruling

Independent

4 hours ago

An Islamic street preacher who lost a High Court libel case against The Spectator and the magazine's associate editor has said he will be appealing against the decision.
Mohammed Hegab, known online as Mohammed Hijab, sued the publication and Douglas Murray over an article that alleged he was a 'street agitator' who whipped up his followers and made disparaging comments about Hindus in the wake of the 2022 Leicester riots, which he denied.
In a ruling last week, Mr Justice Johnson found that the article from September 2022 was 'defamatory' at common law, but dismissed the claim.
He said: 'The publication has not caused, and is not now likely to cause, serious harm to the claimant's reputation.
'In any event, it is substantially true, and it is not materially inaccurate.'
The judge also found that, as a witness, Mr Hegab was 'combative and constantly argumentative'.
In his written judgment, he said: 'He sought, at every turn, to debate with counsel, responding to questions with rhetorical questions of his own, arguing his case rather than giving straightforward responses, and denigrating the character of the second defendant to whom he bears palpable personal animosity.
'I am satisfied that he lied on significant issues, with the consequence that his evidence, overall, is worthless.'
In a YouTube video posted on Wednesday, Mr Hegab said he had 'learned a lot' from the process, adding that he would be appealing against the ruling.
He said: 'I didn't expect it to go that way. I was very disappointed, very disheartened with the ruling.'
He added: 'I will be appealing this judgment.'
In the clip, Mr Hegab also accused the judge of being biased, adding that he had made the mistake of 'putting a bit too much trust in the justice systems in the West'.
The defamation trial centred around a video Mr Hegab made amid violence between Muslims and Hindus in Leicester in the summer of 2022, which was sparked after India won a cricket match against Pakistan in August that year.
In it, he said: 'If they believe in reincarnation … what a humiliation and pathetic thing for them to be reincarnated into some pathetic, weak, cowardly people like that.
'I'd rather be an animal. I'd rather be reincarnated as a grasshopper…'
During the trial in London, Mr Hegab claimed it was clear from the context that he was not talking about Hindus, but Hindutva, an extremist far-right ideology.
But Mr Justice Johnson said that Mr Hegab 'knew exactly what he was doing' and 'chose his words deliberately'.