Northern Ireland man arrested for suspected hate crime after replica mosque placed on top of bonfire

A man has been arrested for a suspected hate crime after the replica of a mosque was placed on top of a loyalist bonfire pyre in Northern Ireland.

Officers from the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) have described the placing of a replica of a mosque on top of a loyalist bonfire pyre in Moygashel, Co Tyrone, as a "hate-motivated criminal offence".

The model, visible on top of the pyre in Moygashel today, has been widely condemned by political parties.

Northern Ireland Secretary and Labour MP Hilary Benn has described it as a “sickening and cowardly act of intimidation”.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

Providing an update this evening, a PSNI spokesman said: "The display on the Moygashel bonfire is being treated as a hate-motivated criminal offence and we continue to assess the situation.

"A 56-year-old man arrested earlier today remains in police custody."

In a social media post, Mr Benn said: "The placement of a replica mosque on the Moygashel bonfire is a sickening and cowardly act of intimidation.

"This is not about tradition, and in no way does it represent the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland. We must stand united and completely reject such hatred."

Amnesty International described it as a "vile display" and a "blatant attempt to stir up anti-Muslim hatred and intimidate local families".

Kashif Akram, from the Belfast Islamic Centre, told the BBC the display was distressing and insulting to people from his community, adding many Muslims were already "living with heightened anxiety".

The Moygashel Bonfire Association has described the bonfire as an act of "political protest" against “uncontrolled illegal mass immigration”.

Signs saying "Secure our borders" and "End the threat of radical Islam" have also been placed on the pyre, which is made up of pallets and is due to be set alight on Friday night to mark The Twelfth.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Northern Ireland Secretary grilled on Irish border 'loophole' as he vows to increase immigration enforcement
• Sixteen people arrested and 12 police officers injured during second night of riots in Belfast
• Migrant crisis: Britain returned just ONE asylum seeker to Ireland under Brexit deal

The same bonfire site has attracted controversy in previous years.

Last year there was condemnation after effigies of migrants in a boat were burned on the pyre.

Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Director Patrick Corrigan said: "This vile display is a blatant attempt to stir up anti-Muslim hatred and intimidate local families.

"It must be met with a decisive response by the police. The placing of an effigy of a mosque on top of a bonfire amounts to incitement to hatred directed at real people who live, work and raise families in Northern Ireland."

Fermanagh and South Tyrone Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew described the display on the bonfire as "deplorable".

He said: "The signage and effigy on the Moygashel bonfire is a clear hate crime. This is fuelled by hate and those that seek to bring division to our communities.

"There is no place in our society for racism, and it is the responsibility of all political representatives and community leaders to stand against it. The PSNI must investigate this as a matter of urgency to remove this disgraceful display."

Ulster Unionist Party Leader, Jon Burrows has called for the "immediate removal of the offensive display", adding: "There can be no place for placing any place of worship on a bonfire and setting it alight. It is simply wrong."

A DUP spokesman said: "[We support] the right of people to express lawful political opinions, even where those opinions are controversial or unpopular. Where the law is broken, it should be enforced.

“Where views are expressed lawfully, they should not be censored simply because some find them offensive. The 11th of July bonfires are a historic and cultural tradition stretching back to the fires lit to welcome the arrival of King William III.

“These should be positive cultural celebrations. We support those within our community that wish to celebrate their culture by continuing with that tradition in a peaceful way.

"The placing of flags, effigies or other items on bonfires is not part of that tradition and should not take place."

In a statement on social media, the Moygashel Bonfire Association said it had "noted the predicable fury in respect of the act of political protest at our bonfire site this year".

The statement said: “This year we have focused on an issue of significant public interest. Our display may well shock, offend or outrage others, but nonetheless it is an exercise in our rights under Article 10 of the ECHR;

"We note with some irony that it is the ECHR which has so often paved the way for mass illegal immigration and a failure to deport foreign criminals who have come here unlawfully, that also now protects our right to protest in robust terms against that.

"If there was no uncontrolled illegal mass immigration, we would have no need to protest on this issue...Our display expressly does NOT target any individual. We make that very clear.

"Our opposition is not to people, but rather to ideology and Government policy. Once this is appreciated, then it is very clear this is no more and no less than an act of protest, which is lawful protected expression."

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter