Former EDL member Peter Finch jailed for stamping on ex and for text rant over Muslim lover

A DRUNK dad beat and stamped on his ex-partner ‘like an animal’ and sent threatening, Islamophobic messages after she took a Muslim lover.

Peter Finch was jailed for 12 months at Worcester Crown Court after he beat his ex in a drunken rage which left her with a suspected broken rib.

He denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm against girlfriend Rebecca Harding at her home in Worcester but was found guilty at trial.

The 31-year-old, who said he was a former member of the English Defence League, previously admitted criminal damage to a door and malicious communication which was deemed racially or religiously aggravated between July and October last year.

Finch of Patterdale Drive, Warndon, Worcester, carried out the assault in May last year after Miss Harding, his partner of five years, returned home from work at about 6pm.

Mark Phillips, prosecuting, said: “The relationship was characterised by this defendant becoming aggressive when in drink.

“It was clear he had been out at the pub during the afternoon and was suffering from the effects of drinking too much.

“He accused her of having an affair when she told him she had other plans for the evening other than going out with him.”

The attack happened in a bedroom where she had gone to get changed.

“She described the defendant flying in and punching her in the face.

“The blow with his right hand struck her right cheek. She saw it instantly swelling up. He pushed her to the floor where he held her by the throat.

“She told him she was unable to breathe but still he would not let her go.”

He was described as kneeling on her while he punched her repeatedly in the body.

Mr Phillips said: “Whilst doing so he said ‘this is what I would have done to him’, presumably referring to the man he believed she was having the affair with.

“He stood up. She was curled up in a defensive position, into a ball. She was on her side, exposing her right flank. He then stamped on her ribs.

“She cried out in pain. It was only at that point the defendant seemed to have any sort of remorse about what he had done, saying he was sorry.

“She describes him as behaving like an animal. She had never seen him like that before.”

Miss Harding suffered bruising and a suspected broken rib during the attack. She went to see her doctor and had her medication for depression ‘doubled’, Mr Phillips said.

When Finch learned Miss Harding had travelled to Marrakech and had a new Moroccan boyfriend he sent her a number of abusive texts and WhatsApp messages.

Mr Phillips said: “There was reference to enjoying her time in a burka, clear reference to her being with a Muslim man.

“He refers to himself hating Muslims with a passion and said ‘you were happy to marry a man who hates Muslims with a passion and would wipe them off the planet’. He says he hopes she gets killed.”

In interview he told police: “I was part of the English Defence League.”

Finch represented himself because he was not eligible for legal aid and could not afford to pay anyone to represent him.

He said his ex had sent him messages about sexual activity between her and her new partner. He said: “It was more than disheartening – it was soul-breaking when she sent that to me.”

He added: “I have not been part of the English Defence League for three years. Now my views are completely changed.”

Judge Nicholas Cole said the assault was aggravated because it took place in front of a child. Although the physical injuries were limited to bruising and a suspected broken rib, the emotional impact had been ‘severe’.

He said of the threatening messages that he was satisfied that they were partly motivated by hostility towards Muslims.

He sentenced him to 12 months in custody for the ABH, four weeks for the criminal damage and three months for the malicious communicated with an extra month added because it was religiously/racially aggravated (four months in total). These sentences will be served concurrently to the 12 months, making a total sentence of 12 months.

No separate penalty was imposed for breach of a conditional discharge.

An indefinite restraining order was granted prohibiting him from having contact with Rebecca Harding.

Source: Worcester Evening News

Josh Downey from Evesham banged up (2016)

A VIOLENT demonstrator identified after giving an interview to a current affairs website has been jailed for 18 months.

Josh Downey’s first name, age, home town and photograph were published on the New Statesman just two days after the “anti-immigration” protests in Dover on Saturday, January 30.

Detectives recognised the 22-year-old, of Offenham Road, Evesham in Worcestershire, as being responsible for offences committed throughout the day and sent Downey’s picture to his local police force for identification.

He was arrested on Wednesday, May 11 and later pleaded guilty to one count of violent disorder.

At his sentencing on Friday, August 12, Canterbury Crown Court heard how Downey was filmed throwing numerous objects at opposition protestors in Effingham Street, Dover.

He was later spotted hurling further items while in Folkestone Road, and was also seen in possession of a large piece of wood.

When further fighting broke out later in Market Square, Downey was again caught throwing objects including two large pieces of wood.

Detective Sergeant Matthew Smith of Kent Police said: “The investigation team have arrested more than 70 people in connection with the demonstrations in Dover and they continue to review hundreds of hours of footage captured on the day.

“Although Josh Downey gave us a head start by allowing his details to be published online, my officers have shown they are more than capable of identifying those responsible through good old fashioned police work and a determination to succeed.

“His 18-month sentence is further proof of how serious these cases are being treated by the courts, and I hope the people of Dover are as pleased as I am with the positive results we have received thus far.”

Worcester Evening News

‘Worcester council candidate under fire for “despicable” internet posts casting doubts over the Holocaust’

‘A WORCESTER City Council election candidate has sparked fresh fury by casting doubts about the Holocaust – on a sick website hosted in Russia.

We revealed earlier this week how Carl Mason, who is standing in the Nunnery ward in May, has quit as the city’s BNP organiser to launch a new right-wing group called the ‘British Resistance Party’.

But the controversial figure, who was questioned by police last Saturday after stickers linking the Labour Party to paedophiles appeared on lampposts, is now coming under fresh scrutiny for his online blogging.

The 50-year-old is a writer on a website called the ‘European Knights Project‘, which claims to provide a platform for people looking to “preserve Christian culture”.

On it Mr Mason, who boasts about waging “a one-man war against multiculturalism”, says many Germans were jailed for “doing little more than following orders”.

He also refers to the documented history of the Einsatzgruppen, where Nazi death squads were responsible for the mass slaughter of Jewish people, as wrong – saying “they did no such thing”, claiming the Germans instead shot “Communists” as a “revenge” for allied forces taking their farms, factories and homes.

Worcester Nazi Carl Mason

He also cites doubts about several other elements of the Holocaust, before suggesting a conspiracy is at play to fool people.

“Could it be to control people’s voting habits, and in turn keep certain political parties in power, and in the money,” he writes.

“Is it being done in a manner so we feel sympathy towards the people that control our money supply, run our banks and media, so people are socially conditioned to hating people like me?

“Recall whenever a patriot is referred to as a ‘Nazi’, an image of shrunken heads and skin lampshades immediately pops up.”

Other online posts also bring up similar rhetoric, and on his official resistance party’s website he calls himself its “security adviser”, using the slogan: “Enough is enough – attack one of us, attack all of us – meet the British Resistance, our organisation and nation’s last line of defence.”

He also refers to wanting to “stand against Islamism, Zionism and British traitors”.

Mr Mason has told this newspaper he was “not denying the Holocaust” but admitted writing the posts because of doubts over the official narrative.

“If I wrote that in 53 countries I’d be arrested, that’s why the site is hosted in Russia,” he said.

“I’m not denying the Holocaust, as such but I’m asking questions – I think it did happen, but it was different to what history says.”

Worcestershire MEP James Carver, who is of Romanichal descent, has called it “despicable”.

“It’s disgusting, the historical facts about the Holocaust are clear,” he said.

“I know Holocaust survivors personally, this is just despicable – I know the stories and the heartbreak.”

West Mercia Police are taking no action against Mr Mason for the stickers linking the Labour Party to paedophiles, after he denied sticking them on lampposts.

He did, however, admit to printing off “around 2,000” to sell to other people.

Worcester Evening News

‘I made Labour ‘paedo’ stickers – Worcester council candidate in police probe’

“A POLICE probe has launched after smear campaign stickers linking the Labour Party to paedophiles appeared across the city – with a council candidate being questioned.

In recent months these labels have been found stuck on lampposts across Worcester, with West Mercia Police now deciding to intervene.

We can reveal how Carl Mason, a gas engineer who used to run the city’s British National Party branch, was visited by officers on Saturday evening.

The 50-year-old, of Keble Close, has admitted producing “around 2,000” of the stickers in recent years to sell them on, but insists he has not put them up on any of the lampposts himself.

The stickers, which have been spotted in areas like Tolladine, St John’s and St Peter’s, makes bizarre claims about Labour being a ‘paedo party’ and features details of a website detailing court cases for child sexual offences involving its former councillors nationwide.

 Worcester Labour Party, which made the complaint to police on the grounds of it being malicious, says increasing numbers of

Mason with BNP fuhrer Nick Griffin

its members have been complaining about the stickers.

But Mr Mason, of Keble Close, who is standing in the local elections in May, has hit out at his treatment and says he wants to be left alone.

 “Between five and six o’clock two coppers knocked on the door and I think they were embarrassed to be there, to be honest,” he said.

“They said ‘we’re not charging you, you are not under arrest, we just want to ask you some questions’.

“They told me they’d had a complaint from Worcester Labour Party, and I said I’ve seen them around town.

“I did get stickers printed and sold them on the internet a couple of years ago but I haven’t been putting them up anywhere, it’s a total waste of police time.”

Labour Party sources said they felt the stickers have gone too far and need to be stopped.

Roger Jenkins, the branch secretary, said today: “Technically it was an individual of the party who made a police complaint, but I can’t divulge who.

“But we’ve had members of the party contact the branch about them, several of them weren’t even active members.”

Worcester City Council has been taking down some of the stickers in recent months when staff spot them, saying the tactic is illegal flyposting.

A council spokesman said: “Whenever we come across them they are removed, this is illegal flyposting.”

A spokesman for West Mercia Police said they were unable to confirm what stage the probe was today.

 Mr Mason has tried to get elected onto the city council for the BNP, and is standing in Nunnery this May for the newly-formed ‘British Resistance Party’.

The right-wing party is also expected to contest Gorse and Hill and St John’s for this year’s local elections on Thursday, May 5.”

Malvern Gazette

More local boneheads to look out for..

So-called “United Worcestershire” racists – soiling the streets of Dudley with their filth 7th February..

Faces of hate to look out for in Worcestershire..

Anti-Fascist Network & Hunt Saboteurs Association announce affiliation

The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is pleased to announce its affiliation to the Anti-fascist network (AFN).

The HSA has always had a policy of inclusion, welcoming anyone into our ranks regardless of race, creed, gender, religion or sexuality, and has been forced over the years to confront and exclude people who have been proved to be racist or fascist.

Our active members have for years been the subject of racist (and sexist) abuse from the hunting community which only highlights that our struggle to end hunting also promotes a more ethical attitude to both humans and animals.

 Both the HSA and AFN promote a policy of confronting those engaged in racism and hunting respectively, on the streets and in the countryside. To not only stop such activities continuing but also to highlight them to the wider public.

While other organisations hide their heads in their hands, hoping that a few leaflets or email shots will make the problems go away, we are clear that the only way to end both hunting and racism is confront it head on, so those who partake of such actions and attitudes are clear that we will oppose them until they stop.

 

For any further enquiries please contact our Press Officer here.

huntsabs.org.uk

antifascistnetwork.wordpress.com

Moscow Antifa: Aleksey “Sokrat” Sutuga locked up again

via Moscow Mutiny

If there ever was a modern-day vigilante hero, so to speak, this is him. An acknowledged Antifa leader, Aleksey had been continuously hassled by the joint efforts of all varieties of Russian popo, until the “anti-extremist” squad finally managed to pin him down (under similar circumstances as depicted below) on fabricated charges in 2012.

Along with several other prominent antifascists, Aleksey had spent almost 2 years in jail awaiting a “trial” that never came. He was finally released under Putin’s bullshit amnesty only 3 months ago. Pigs however, being pigs, are obviously unable to let go of an old grudge and are now back at him in full-force (when they’re not too busy toppling neighboring states, shooting protesters from machine guns and starting WWIII.)

The full article from http://www.avtonom.org

Today, on April 8th, 2014, a Judge of the Moscow Zamoskvorechye Court has again confined Aleksey “Sokrat” Sutuga – one of Moscow’s most prominent antifascists, to jail. He is being charged with disorderly conduct by a group of persons – a criminal offense under Part 2 of Article 213 of the Russian Constitution. Sutuga’s lawyer had pleaded with the judge for a measure of restraint that did not involve detention. Several of Aleksey’s friends had been willing to provide him with living quarters in the case of a house-arrest verdict.

Sutuga was arrested on the evening of April 5th, on his way from an antifascist concert in Moscow’s Izmailovo district . The protocol of his arrest states “hooliganism” as a premise for his detention – Sutuga was allegedly cursing loudly in public. (Although according to some accounts Aleksey had been detained by members of the infamous “anti-extrimist” squad along with riot police.)

On April 6th, however, Aleksey was already taken to Moscow’s Criminal Police Headquarters, where he was told that he is a suspected culprit in a fight that had occurred on January 2nd .

According to Aleksey, that evening he was returning from a friend’s house with another acquaintance, when he had stumbled upon an ongoing fight between a group of 6 vs. a group of 3 unknown young men. According to Sutuga , the group of 6 men was of far-right persuasion, one of them had non-lethal handgun (traumatic weapons are legal and widespread in Russia.) The six nazis are now depicted as Sutuga’s “victims”.

Sutuga says that he had intervened in the fight, intending to stop it and subdue the opponents. His testimony is confirmed by his friend, who had witnessed the incident with him. The victims later identified Sutuga through online photographs, and, according to investigators, his “overly expressive appearance .”

Aleksey’s lawyer drew attention to the fact that one of the victims had already taken part in a face-to-face recognition procedure with Aleksey, and had not declared that he was attacked by Aleksey in his subsequent testimony, as it is stated in the police protocol. In addition, at the beginning of the court session, the statutory 48 hours pre-trial detention period had long expired.

Nevertheless , the judge recognized the prosecutors’ notion that Aleksey could allegedly flee if not detained in jail, and proceeded to enter him government custody until May 6th, 2014.

As a reminder, not so long ago, Sutuga had already been detained for over a year as a suspect in a fight with nationalists in the “Vozdukh” night club. On January 10th, 2014 his case had been dismissed due to a general amnesty.

Repost please, if you care.

WHITE PRIDE WASHOUT national front in Swansea

via SchNEWS

After days of spreading misinformation to the police, council and opposition groups, the National Front finally held their annual ‘White Pride’ demonstration at Swansea Castle on Saturday. By doing their best to convince residents that it wasn’t going ahead and keeping their rally point secret – it was obvious that the organisers didn’t expect any public support and were worried about the size of the opposition.

Unfortunately, one group that fell for the trick were Swansea Unite Against Fascism (UAF) who called off their counter demo after apparently being assured by police that the event wasn’t going ahead.

However by midday groups of skinheads were congregating in the vicinity of Castle Square around Yates bar, and a diverse counter-demonstration was gathering in the square itself.

Around thirty NF supporters unfurled fascist banners outside the castle, they were quickly outnumbered by around 100 antifascists on the other side of the road. The NF found themselves served with restrictions by police, and were ordered to disperse after only an hour.

As they were being dispersed a few up for it antifascists were able to directly confront the White Pride supporters. A small scuffle broke out and a fascist flag was snatched before the NF could be escorted to Ice bar on Wind St, where the boneheads consoled themselves by getting pissed and shouting racist abuse.

“I personally witnessed them shouting at a Muslim couple, who had joined the antifascist demonstration,” Al Brown of South Wales Antifascist Action told SchNEWS “They called the man a “paki” as police officers looked on. The cops did nothing to try to stop the abuse, and wouldn’t listen to the man’s wife when she tried to complain about it.”

After Ice bar, the NF were escorted up to another bar – Static on Kingsway, where antifascists kept watch behind a police cordon. A phone blockade was organised , and the bar’s management in Bristol responded by travelling to Swansea in order to have the racist crowd removed. The NF were then quickly marched by police to the station and made to get on a train.

“South Wales Antifascist Action had a 30-strong bloc and we opposed them every step of the way. It seemed like some kind of pathetic racist pub crawl facilitated by the police, who seemed content to turn a blind eye to all the harassment the NF were causing to Swansea residents. Officers could even be seen exchanging handshakes with NF supporters outside Static. It’s really troubling that they would fraternise in this way with people who were shouting racist insults and threats of violence during the day,” said Al Brown.

“I don’t think Unite Against Fascism can take any credit at all for the counter demonstration on Saturday. They took the fascists’ bait and called off their demo, then ignored other groups who had assurances it was still happening. But SWAFA, Swansea Trades Council and a lot of interested local residents went ahead without them. We want to thank everyone who took part, whatever their background, because we know that true strength lies in diversity.”

For more information please contact South Wales Antifascist Action:

swafa@riseup.net

@swafa05

Call-out to Oppose Worldwide White Pride in Swansea April 5th

Reposted from Anti-Fascist Network

From Cardiff Antifa Caerdydd:

Urgent Call Out To All The Antifacists In Britain

A WHITE PRIDE WORLD WIDE DEMONSTRATION HAS BEEN CALLED BY THE NATIONAL FRONT IN SWANSEA ON THE 5th OF APRIL 2014. THE DEMO IS CO-ORGANISED BY AN UMBRELLA GROUP OF BRITISH WHITE NATIONALIST THAT CALL THEMSELVES ‘FOR RACE AND NATION COLLECTIVE’.

The National Front is on the rise in south Wales. In January 2014, they held their Annual General Meeting in Swansea. This meeting went ahead un-disrupted by any antifascist and/or Antifa.

Since then, people from several areas throughout south Wales have contacted the NF to organise local demonstrations. In one of them, a small group of people confronted them. However, no call out was made nationally.

In March 2013, the first UK-wide White Pride World Wide event was held in Swansea organised by the National Front. Up to 100 fascists attended and although outnumbered, they held a static demonstration with minimal confrontation or disruption. This time, they are trying to make it bigger than last year.

This were the scenes in Swansea at last year’s White Pride World Wide event for which Christopher Philips was jailed

The NF is also part of For Race and Nation Collective: a combination of multiple fascists groups who believe in white supremacy. They are co-organising this demonstration.

If they are not properly confronted again, the city of Swansea is in danger of becoming the White Pride UK Capital. Swansea is becoming the NF capital in Wales, as mentioned earlier.

Opposing the NF demo last year

This as we know, must not happen. Fascists should not be welcomed in
Swansea, Wales or anywhere on this planet. We, as anti-fascists in Wales want the National Front and all fascist groups out and out forever.

This is an urgent call out for anyone who identifies as an anti-fascist to come to Swansea on the 5th of April 2014.

This is the time when we urgently need all the support from anyone from anywhere who is against fascism and racism.

Please put the 5th of April 2014 in your diary and come to Swansea to stop the UK’s White Pride World Wide.

See you on the streets! ¡No Pasarán!

We are an independent group of antifa people who live in Wales. Our main objective is to organise resistance against fascism in Swansea. We are currently organising a counter demo.

– Cardiff Antifa Caerdydd

Extra Information

Quiet a lot of info on last year’s event here and here and this is the Facebook event from last time. The White Pride demo pulled about 60 fascists who were opposed by 300-400 anti-fascists.

The demo was followed in the evening by a Blood and Honour gig hosted at the Valley Commandos Motorcycle Club.

VCMC denied all knowledge of the event’s true nature, but given that their logo is an SS death’s head and they appear to have hosted neo-Nazi events before (see comments here), it does make you wonder… Hopefully they will not be repeating their mistake and hosting Nazis again.