The refugee who wore a paraglider image at a pro-Palestine protest will reportedly have her immigration status reviewed.
Heba Alhayek, 29, came to the UK claiming to be fleeing from Hamas and previously claimed her life would be at risk if she went back to Gaza after her family’s criticism of the terror group.
Now the Home Office is reportedly looking into her immigration status after she was convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000. The Home Office told the Telegraph that ‘supporting banned terrorist groups will not be tolerated’.
Alhayek, Pauline Ankunda, 26, and Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, displayed paraglider stickers on a London march on October 14 last year – just seven days after Hamas terrorists used paragliders to enter Israel before randomly slaughtering 1,200 people.
They were found guilty this week following a two-day trial, but judge Tan Ikram said he had ‘decided not to punish’ the women and gave them a 12-month conditional discharge instead on the basis that he did not believe they were true Hamas supporters and ’emotions’ had ‘run very high’ at the time of their offence.
This caused the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider seeking a judicial review, a decision former Home Secretary Suella Braverman praised as she told the Times: ‘It’s clear that something has gone very wrong here.’
Heba Alhayek, 29, one of three protesters seen with images of paragliders at a pro-Palestinian march, is a Palestinian author who was given asylum in Britain because her family were critical of Hamas
Defence lawyers had argued parachutes were a general symbol of liberation in Palestinian art, but the judge rejected this, saying he was ‘sure’ the reference had been to the Hamas attack
Tan Ikram, who is a deputy senior district judge, says he accidentally liked a video on LinkedIn claiming ‘justice will be coming’ to Israelis
It comes following calls by MPs and campaigners for his decision to be revisited after he ‘accidentally’ liked an anti-Israeli post online.
Ikram, who is a deputy senior district judge, says he accidentally liked a video on LinkedIn claiming ‘justice will be coming’ to Israelis.
It came to light a day after he let the women walk free from Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
MPs said their 12-month conditional discharge sentence should be revisited in light of the social media ‘like’. The offence, convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000, carries a maximum jail term of six months.
Downing Street said it had referred the case to the Attorney General.
A source said: ‘Serious questions are being raised in Government on how a judge who liked this post was able to preside over this landmark case and what this means for the sentencing decision. It’s deeply troubling.’
And former attorney general and home secretary Suella Braverman said: ‘With anti-Semitism at an all-time high, judges must be impartial and beyond reproach.’
Claudia Mendoza, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, described the sentence as ‘woefully inadequate’ and the judge’s remarks as ‘extremely surprising’.
There were no complaints made during the trial over the judge’s handling of the case.
Defence lawyers had argued parachutes were a general symbol of liberation in Palestinian art, but the judge rejected this, saying he was ‘sure’ the reference had been to the Hamas attack.
Judge Ikram said in his sentencing remarks: ‘Seven days earlier, Hamas went into Israel with what was described by the media as paragliders. A reasonable person would have seen and read that.’
The Home Office is reportedly looking into Heba Alhayek’s immigration status after she was convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000
Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, had an image of a terrorist paraglider attached to the handle of a placard. Pauline Ankunda, 26, attached one to her jacket
Alhayek is visible on the left of this image – one of several CCTV grabs circulated by the Met
The post was by barrister Sham Uddin who had previously promoted conspiracy theories claiming that Israel allowed the October 7 attack
He handed the three women conditional discharges, which means they will be treated more harshly if convicted of another offence in the next 12 months.
The video he ‘liked’ was captioned: ‘Free free Palestine. To the Israeli terrorist both in the United Kingdom, the United States, and of course Israel you can run, you can bomb but you cannot hide – justice will be coming for you.’
A judiciary spokesman said on behalf of the judge: ‘He didn’t know he had liked the post. If he did, it was a genuine mistake.’
He could face disciplinary action if found to have ignored the Guide to Judicial Conduct, stating judges ‘should be aware of the risk of undermining trust and confidence in the judiciary by expressing, or appearing to endorse, views which could cast doubt on their objectivity’.
A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said the sentence was not eligible for review as it was not made in a crown court.
A CPS spokesman said: ‘We are carefully considering any future actions in relation to this case.’