'Muslim Patrol' vigilante group jailed for attacks in UK

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Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Dec 07 2013 | 5:01 PM IST
Three members of a self-styled "Muslim Patrol" vigilante group, who threatened members of the public on the streets of east London by claiming to enforce Sharia law, have been jailed.
Jordan Horner, 19, was sentenced to 17 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of assault and two charges of using threatening words and behaviour.
Ricardo MacFarlane, 26, was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to affray, while another 23-year-old member of the group received a six-month sentence after pleading guilty to affray.
Passing the sentence yesterday, Judge Rebecca Poulet said, "One of the many good things about living in Great Britain is the tolerance and respect members of the public generally show to one another's religious beliefs, his dress or his chosen way of life.
"When, on occasions, a person shows their intolerance of another individual, whether by aggression or violence and in such a way as to cause real fear to the individual, then the law can be invoked to protect that individual."
The court was told how the trio had terrorised east London neighbourhoods. They bullied a couple for holding hands, told a woman that she would be punished in "hellfire" because of the way she was dressed and attacked a group of men for drinking alcohol on various occasions.
In a video uploaded to YouTube, the group can be heard shouting, "You need to control this area and forbid people from exposing themselves outside the mosque. Remove yourselves now. Muslim Patrol. Move away from the mosque. Don't come back. We don't respect those who disrespect God."
Horner, who changed his name to Jamal Uddin after converting, was jailed for six weeks in July for assaulting a photographer and causing damage worth 3,000 pounds to a car.
He was also seen putting up posters across east London "banning" alcohol.
London's Chief Crown Prosecutor, Baljit Ubhey, said the trio's "bullying behaviour" would not be tolerated in London.
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First Published: Dec 07 2013 | 5:01 PM IST

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