'Paraglider' badge wearers at pro-Palestine march guilty of terror offences

13 February 2024 , 23:16

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Heba Alhayek, 29, (left) and Pauline Ankunda, 26, (right) have been found guilty of a terror offence (Image: PA)

Three women who displayed images of "paragliders" at a pro-Palestinian march just days after the Hamas attack on Israel have been found guilty of a terror offence.

Heba Alhayek, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, attached images to their backs with tape, while Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, stuck one to the handle of a placard. The trio lowered their heads and wept in the dock as the verdict was read out - but were spared jail after the judge decided their lesson had been "well learned".

The women displayed the images on October 14 2023, just seven days after militants from Hamas launched a surprise assault using paragliders to enter Israel from Gaza. More than 1,000 Israelis died in the attacks.

After an online appeal by the Met Police, the three women were charged under the Terrorism Act with carrying or displaying an article to arouse reasonable suspicion that they are supporters of the banned organisation Hamas, which they denied. The trio were found guilty on Tuesday following a two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court, after prosecutors argued it was "no coincidence" the defendants displayed the images so soon after the deadly attack.

Alhayek and Ankunda attached the images to their backs with tape just seven days after the Hamas attacks on Israel (Met Police)

Lawyers for the group had stated they were actually displaying images of a parachute emoji rather than paragliders, and that flying-related images were a common symbol of peace in the region. Mark Summers KC, for Alhayek and Ankunda, claimed the idea that the image represented a paraglider started with "an internet group with an agenda".

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Giving his verdict, Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram said there was no evidence that any of the women supported Hamas, but said it "matters not" because the issue came down to what a "reasonable person" would think the picture meant. Section 13 of the Terrorism Act is a strict liability offence, meaning the motivation of the trio was not a factor in the case, but the interpretation of a "reasonable person" was.

Mr Ikram said "a reasonable person would have seen and read" about Hamas militants' use of "what was described by the media as paragliders", and would therefore associate the image with that tactic. Lawyers for the group argued that flying-related images were a common symbol of peace in the region, but the judge said he did not believe a reasonable person would interpret the image "merely as a symbol of freedom."

Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, stuck an image to the handle of a placard (PA)

Alhayek (pictured) and Ankunda were each ordered to pay costs of £400 (PA)

Mr Ikram said he had "decided not to punish" the defendants, and handed each woman a 12-month conditional discharge, meaning they will not face punishment unless they commit further offences. He said: "You crossed the line, but it would have been fair to say that emotions ran very high on this issue. Your lesson has been well learned. I do not find you were seeking to show any support for Hamas."

Alhayek and Ankunda were each ordered to pay costs of £400, while no order of this kind was made for Taiwo. They must pay a surcharge of £26. After the Metropolitan Police launched a social media appeal to find them, Alhayek and Ankunda handed themselves into Croydon Police Station.

In a police interview, the pair initially claimed someone at the demonstration "who was not known to them" had stuck the images to their backs, before changing their statements, admitting they had attached them themselves. Prosecutor Brett Weaver told the court: "Their reaction was firstly to lie." When arrested and interviewed under caution, Taiwo claimed to have been handed the placard and not paid proper attention to the "blurry image" it displayed.

Reacting to the verdict, the Crown Prosecution Service said displaying the images amounted to the "glorification of the actions" of Hamas. Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: "All three women knowingly displayed the images of paragliders in central London and therefore showed their support for Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation. The fact that these images were being displayed in the context of a protest opposing the Israeli response to the Hamas attacks demonstrates a glorification of the actions taken by the group."

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas