Two men have been jailed over the attack on Totterdown mosque in which bacon was tied to door handles and abuse was shouted at a worshipper. Two women have been given suspended jail sentences. All four were all given a restraining order banning them from going within 100 metres of a mosque anywhere in England or Wales for the next 10 years. During the incident a St George’s flag was tied to the fence surrounding the mosque. Judge Julian Lambert condemned the incident as an “attack on England” and “the principles of freedom of religion”.
Following the incident, Bristol neighbourhood manager Inspector Nigel Colston said:
“I would like to pay tribute to the response of the local community following this incident. The way local people came together with overwhelming support for the mosque made me proud to be associated with Bristol. It was fantastic to see so many messages of support from groups and individuals. The open meeting at the mosque was packed to the rafters with people who wanted to let mosque worshippers know that they are welcomed and valued. There can never be any excuse for hate crime in any shape or form and this criminality will not be tolerated. All of our communities have the right to live and worship peacefully without fear of being targeted for their race or religion. We will always support anyone who is victimised and work closely with all communities to stamp out crimes motivated by prejudice and hate.”
Anyone with information about a hate incident can call 999 in an emergency, or 101 in a non-emergency.