As you may have seen, the teenager accused of murdering three young girls in Southport has been charged with possessing a military study of an Al-Qaeda training manual and the manufacture of ricin poison.
The mass stabbing perpetrated by Axel Rudakubana targeted children at a Taylor Swift dance workshop in Southport on Monday, July 29th. Along with the fatalities there were 10 people injured, including eight children. On July 30th and over subsequent days there were outbreaks of civil disorder in England and Northern Ireland.
We suspect some of the prosecutions of people for saying supposedly inflammatory things on social media may now be unsafe – for instance, the man in Cumbria sentenced to eight weeks in jail for reposting three allegedly ‘Islamophobic’ memes on Facebook. At the very least, it may be grounds for appealing their often draconian jail sentences.
And what about the many people arrested in August for social media posts about the Southport attack who came under enormous pressure from the police to plead guilty? Did the police know at that time that the news about the link to an Islamist training manual would eventually come out and that once it had it would be more difficult to persuade a jury to convict these people? If so, that may be a good basis for a law suit.
We’ve provided legal assistance to several of our members who did get into difficulty over the summer for saying things about the Southport attack on social media, including a Royal Marines veteran prosecuted for a Facebook video who has pleaded not guilty. His trial is forthcoming and we’re paying for a solicitor and a barrister.
If you are planning to say something on social media about today’s news, we have published some FAQs on online offences related to civil disorder – if you’re an FSU member, you can access them at the link below.
The FAQs offer some guidance on what you can and can’t say without getting into trouble.
In light of today’s news, we wanted to remind you that the Free Speech Union has an arrangement in place with a top criminal solicitor, Luke Gittos, whereby you can call him if you’re contacted by the police in connection with comments you’ve made on social media about the Southport attacks and subsequent civil unrest. We have now extended that arrangement to include comments made about today’s news.
Provided you’re a member, we will pay for a telephone consultation with Luke or someone from his firm about your case and may, at our discretion, pay for a solicitor to attend a police interview, as well as further legal work on your case, including your entire defence.
It’s worth bearing in mind that you’re not supposed to say anything publicly about a forthcoming trial that risks prejudicing court proceedings. This is the rule of ‘sub judice’ and anyone who breaks it may be found to be in contempt of court. While it isn’t usually enforced against non-journalists for saying things on social media, it could be. The maximum sentence for contempt is an unlimited fine and/or two years in prison.
In addition, you could conceivably be prosecuted for describing the attacker as an ‘Islamist’, with Merseyside Police maintaining that the motive for the attack still hasn’t been established.
And remember, if you’re a member of the Free Speech Union and the police do contact you in connection with something you’ve said on social media about these events, call our criminal solicitor, Luke Gittos.
To become a member of the Free Speech Union, click on the link below.
