London police have been filmed refusing to accept complaints against al-Quds Day marchers flying the flag of a proscribed terror group at their demonstration.
Al-Quds Day was instituted by the late Iranian dictator Ruhollah Khomeini to demand the destruction or disestablishment of the State of Israel and the restoration of Quds – Jerusalem – as an Islamic capital.
In London, al-Quds Day is typically attended by supporters of Hezbollah, a Shi’ite organisation backed by the Iranian regime and proscribed as a terrorist outfit by the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Israel, and the Arab League, amongst others.
Curiously, the European Union as an entity has proscribed only its paramilitary wing, leaving its so-called political wing free to operate unmolested. The United Kingdom has followed the EU’s lead.
This controversial stance led to a woman attempting to make a complaint to three separate police constables about Hezbollah flags at the al-Quds demonstration on Sunday, with the police refusing to accept it.
The woman was sure that flying the “terrorist flags”, which depict an assault rifle held overhead in a clenched fist, was an offence, and was concerned that the officers’ refusal to register her complaint would mean they could “do like last time [and] say nobody complained”.
“You need to go and reacquaint yourself with the rules and the law around that particular flag,” an irate inspector told her. “There are specific wordings around when you, or anybody, can claim or refer to it as becoming an offence [to fly the flag],” he said.
“You can’t explain to me [why] a proscribed terrorist organisation [is allowed] to raise its flag on the street,” she countered.
“You’ve got a smartphone, right? You’ve got a smartphone? Google it!” he instructed, before walking away.
She attempted to press her case, but the inspector dismissed her, saying she had simply “seen a flag of a state”.
“They’re not a state,” she said. “It’s not the flag of a state, it’s the flag of a terrorist organisation.”
“We’re not going to argue that, I’m not here for that,” he snapped. “End of conversation.”
.@MaajidNawaz could not believe this happened in London today https://t.co/VmWfONDRdm
— LBC (@LBC) June 18, 2017
Breitbart London contacted the Metropolitan Police about the incident, and a spokesman confirmed there were no arrests in relation to the flag because “There were no offences under S.13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, displaying an article, such as a flag, in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that they are a member or supporter of a ‘proscribed organisation’.”
The College of Policing’s Hate Crime Operational Guidance manual states: “For recording purposes, the perception of the victim, or any other person, is the defining factor in determining whether an incident is a hate incident.
“The victim does not have to justify or provide evidence of their belief, and police officers or staff should not directly challenge this perception. Evidence of the hostility is not required for an incident or crime to be recorded as a hate crime or hate incident.”
Senior police constables, such as Essex police force Assistant Chief Constable Maurice Mason, have previously confirmed that these incredibly loose definitions have led to “hate crimes” being logged after “members of the public [complained] about Nigel Farage, or whatever”.
Breitbart London has contacted the Metropolitan Police to confirm how many complaints and hate incident reports the Met recorded in relation to the al-Quds demonstration.
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