A police officer has been given a community order after posting images on WhatsApp in support of Hamas, days after the 7 October attacks in Israel.

Mohammed Adil, from Wibsey in Bradford, entered guilty pleas at Westminster Magistrates' Court last month.

Adil was handed an 18-month community order, including 160 hours of unpaid work and 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was also fined £114 and ordered to pay an £85 victim surcharge.

The 26-year-old accepted that he had posted two images supporting the al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the banned terrorist group, following the attacks in which Hamas killed around 1,200 people.

At the time of the offences, Adil was a serving police officer with West Yorkshire Police, based in Calderdale.

A court previously heard that Adil was reported to superiors by two of his colleagues - a constable and a sergeant - after making the posts on 31 October and 4 November last year.

He was then suspended and an investigation launched by Counter-Terrorism Policing North East.

West Yorkshire Police officer Mohammed Adil, 26, leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court, central London, after he admitted two counts of publishing an image in support of banned organisation Hamas, namely a Hamas fighter wearing a Hamas headband. Picture date: Thursday May 2, 2024.
Image: Adil was a serving police officer at the time of the offences. Pic: PA

He was charged under the Terrorism Act on 1 May and the following day pleaded guilty to two counts of publishing an image in support of the banned organisation Hamas.

The posts were made to the "stories" feature of his WhatsApp account, which were available for any of his 1,092 contacts to view for 24 hours.

The two posts each featured images of a Hamas fighter wearing a red chequered headscarf and a headband with the logo of the al Qassam Brigades.

The first was accompanied by the statement: "Today is the time for the Palestinian people to rise, set their path straight and establish an independent Palestinian state."

It was attributed to Mohammed Daif, the leader of the al Qassam Brigades.

The second stated: "We will hold accountable all those who occupied our lands and Allah will hold accountable all those who remain silent against this occupation and oppression."

It was attributed to Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the al Qassam Brigades.

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During the case, Bridget Fitzpatrick, prosecuting, told the court that Adil was arrested on 6 November and his phone was seized, but it showed no other material giving rise to charges under the Terrorism Act.

She added: "However, there was a plethora of material that showed he had a longstanding interest in the politics of the Middle East, including pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli material, and a significant proportion related to Hamas or Hezbollah."

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Ms Fitzpatrick conceded the content was not on an open forum but said the offending was aggravated by the proximity to the 7 October attacks and "most obviously at the time of his offending he was a police officer."

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