Jailed mosque blaze pair ‘went on marches with EDL’

TWO men who set fire to a mosque met at Hester’s Way Library in Cheltenham and went on English Defence League marches together, a court was told.

Clive Ceronne, 37, and Ashley Juggins, 21, were former members of the controversial group before starting the blaze at Masjid-E-Noor in Ryecroft Street, Gloucester.

Gloucester Crown Court was told yesterday the pair had been driving around and shouting abuse at Muslims on the evening before the arson.

Ceronne was jailed for four-and-a-half years and Juggins for three-and-a-half after the pair pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Juggins, of Brooklyn Road, in Cheltenham, poured petrol on the mosque’s steps before sparking a rag and setting it alight, causing £3,200 damage.

CCTV stills from the attack

The blaze came 27 days after the death of Drummer Lee Rigby, who was killed in Woolwich.

Prosecutor Peter Coombes said: “Ceronne used to work for P&L Security and was posted to Hester’s Way Library where they met.

“His previous employer said Juggins told people that Ceronne had taken him to an EDL rally and had expressed anti-Muslim views to his boss, but also said he had changed his views now.”

In mitigation, Dermot Clarke said Juggins was first introduced to the EDL marches four years ago, but had since stopped taking part.

Mr Clarke said: “He left after two years because, in his own words, he describes the meetings as degenerating into no more than throwing things at the police, however he remained in contact with Ceronne.

“I would be doing him a disservice if I did not mention the influence. He was unemployed, lacking sophistication and befriended by an older man that perhaps had an agenda.”

Since being remanded in prison, Juggins was said to have attended church three times a week.

The court was told Ceronne of Redwood Close in Gloucester had been the county’s divisional officer of the New British Union.

The group is said to be styled on Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, which was banned in the 1940s, after it aligned itself with Nazi Germany.

On its website, Ceronne claimed to have been involved in “far right cults, including the EDL”.

Joe Maloney, for Ceronne, said: “He has had time to reflect on his beliefs, which is not to say he will change his beliefs, drastically over- night.”

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Gloucester mosque arson attack: Two men jailed

Two men have been jailed for an arson attack on a mosque in Gloucester.

Masjid-E-Noor mosque, Gloucester

Petrol was poured around the door of the Masjid-E-Noor mosque on Ryecroft Street and set on fire in June.

Ashley Juggins, 20, and Clive Ceronne, 37, previously admitted arson with reckless endangerment to life.

Ceronne and Juggins

Juggins, of Brooklyn Road, Cheltenham was sentenced to 42 months in prison, while Ceronne, of Gloucester was jailed for 54 months at Gloucester Crown Court.

The court was told the damage to the mosque had been minimal but that was due “more [to] luck than judgement”.

The attack happened days after an open day was held at the mosque to welcome local people.

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So a bomb outside a mosque isn’t designed to “terrorise”?

Seems like plod and the state are being very selective with their words concerning racist or possible racist attacks since drummer Lee Rigby died. If an army barracks/ Govt building was firebombed or an explosive device was found nearby they would hardly call it a “hate crime”…

Police call home-made bomb outside Walsall’s Ashia Mosque a ‘hate crime’ and draft in counter-terror police

Remains of the bomb were handled by different people before committee rang police on suspicious item

Counter-terror police have been called in to assist with a major hate crime investigation after a small home-made bomb that had exploded near a mosque was discovered on Saturday night.

Around 150 people were evacuated from their homes, and 80 had to stay in temporary accommodation in the Caldmore area of Walsall on Saturday night to allow bomb disposal experts to make the device safe.

West Midlands Police confirmed the blast heard by residents on Friday “appeared to be consistent” with the device exploding. The remains of the device were not discovered until the following evening, when a member of the public found the remains. No one was injured and the device caused minimal damage.

The device was discovered in an alleyway adjoining the Aisha Mosque and Islamic Centre in Rutter Street on Saturday by a local man who took it home and showed it to his wife.

Later, the mosque’s imam also took the remains home before anyone realised their significance. Eventually members of the committee and local residents gathered at the mosque and decided to call police about the item, which reportedly contained a battery.

Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe said on Sunday evening: “The force is taking this attack against the mosque very seriously and we have a major investigation under way.

“To that end, I have called in support from all over the force, including the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, which has a number of experts supporting the inquiry.

“Specialist investigators have been working all day and continue to ensure that we maximise every opportunity from the crime scene.”

She added: “At this stage we are keeping an open mind on a motive, but have recorded it as a hate crime.”

She described a hate crime as: “Any criminal act committed against a person or property that is motivated by the offender’s hatred of people because of their gender, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.”

In a bid to reassure the community of their safety Walsall police have been patrolling the area, despite believing that the planting of the device was an isolated incident.

Zia Ul-Haq, a committee member and spokesman for the mosque, told BBC WM committee members contacted police at about 10.15pm because the device looked suspicious.

“It was found by one of our worshippers who after midday prayer was going home, and he had a look and it looked suspicious, so he picked it up and took it home.

“He showed it his wife and his wife said, ‘Well, it looks like something suspicious so you should take it to the mosque’. So he brought it to the mosque but unfortunately there was nobody responsible in the mosque so he took it back home.

“Then he brought it back in the evening and then our imam had a look at it, and he took it home because nobody thought it was that serious.

“I said it looks suspicious and we decided to call the police. As soon as the police came they said we should not have handled it.”

Mr Ul-Haq thanked officers and the local council for the measures they had taken to support the community in the aftermath of the discovery.

He said: “They have taken this very seriously and they have supported us wholeheartedly and we are very grateful to the police and the local authority.

“We are not suspecting anybody, we are leaving it in the good hands of the police. We have beautiful relationships with the local community and we’ve never had any trouble at all at our mosque.”

Mr Ul-Haq told the BBC that the mosque had been a part of the community for more than 40 years and held strong relations with communities of all faiths, often holding open days for non-Muslims.

“We never ever thought there was going to be a problem and people are still finding it hard that somebody could have targeted us.”

Bomb disposal experts from the Royal Logistic Corps attended the scene to ensure the device was safe and forensic teams spent several hours conducting a detailed search for evidence.

About 80 people evacuated from the area as a precautionary measure overnight were given shelter by Walsall Council, while 70 residents stayed with friends or family.

Councillor Zahid Ali, portfolio holder for public health and protection, said the community was standing together “shoulder to shoulder” in support of the police.

“Walsall has really shown its mettle in coming together and responding with calm determination.”

The incident comes after a number of recent events at mosques following the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, London. Last week two men were charged in relation to an alleged arson at a mosque in Gloucester, and an Islamic cultural centre in Grimsby was hit by petrol bombs last month.

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Update

Arrest in explosive device find near Walsall mosque

2012 far-right activity round-up in the Three Counties

As we start 2013 we thought we would give a brief overview of fascist and far-right activity in the Three Counties region over the last year. They really haven’t given us too much to worry about!

English Defence League: None of the local ‘divisions’ have done anything notable all year. Following the national trend, the Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire divisions seemingly no longer exist beyond occasionally-updated Facebook pages. There’s no evidence of any of the local halfwits attending any of the national demos.

British National Party: As opposed to their peak a few years ago, there’s only one ‘active’ branch left in the region now. Their organiser/candidate Carl Mason did very poorly in the local elections in Worcester, and also got himself some very cheap publicity for breaking into the office of a local college to deliver the Union Flag for them to fly. Must. Try. Harder!

English Volunteer Force: Formed as one of the dozens of EDL splits in the summer. Started a Facebook page for their Hereford ‘group.’ Managed to achieve a mesmerising 20-odd ‘likes.’ Haven’t done anything else.

General racism and idiocy: Some Swastikas and ‘Welcome to Poland’ graffiti appeared on road signs in Herefordshire. A racist halfwit got jailed for attacking a Cheltenham mosque. Worcester City player, Lee Smith, was let go for his tweet about ‘illegal’ immigrants. A kiddy got in trouble for another racist tweet before the Cheltenham Town FC vs Hereford United FC derby match. Ross-on-Wye huntsman, Lee Peters, was found guilty of racially abusing an anti-hunt protester.

As we go into 2013 we’ll continue to monitor far-right activity in the region, support call-outs from anti-fascists elsewhere in the country as well as support and involve ourselves in the Anti-Fascist Network. If last year was the ‘Year of the Infidel,’ we cannot wait to see what this year will be…

“Man jailed for racist attack on Cheltenham mosque”

A man has been jailed after leaving a pigs head tied to the gates of Cheltenham Mosque and daubing racist graffiti, in an apparent ‘revenge attack’ against Muslims after seeing members of the extremist ‘Muslims Against Crusades’ burn poppies on remembrance day.

Simon Parkes

The incident happened on November 13th 2010, when him and an unknown accomplice arrived late at night, hooded and masked up. They left the pigs head tied to the gate, and painted ‘Rag Heads Out’ on a wall.

Simon Parkes, 45, of Crown Close, Bishop’s Cleeve, was charged with racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage and a public order offence on July 14, 2012. On August 9 he pleaded guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates and yesterday he was been sentenced to four months at Gloucester Crown Court.

– Whilst 3 Counties Anti-Fascists fully condemn the racist actions of Simon Parkes and his indiscriminate targeting of Muslims, we would also like to point out that we fully oppose the hate-filled ideology behind ‘Muslims Against Crusades.’ We believe that they and groups such as the EDL and BNP are different sides of the same coin – both standing in the way of working class unity , freedom and equality.

An Update

The blog has been a bit quiet recently, so we thought we would give a brief update on what’s been going on.

There is very little activity from the far-right in the Three Counties at the moment, and therefore little activity from us. None of the local EDL divisions seem to be doing anything any more, not even attending national demos. There also appears to be very little from any of the remaining local branches of the BNP, Worcestershire BNP seemingly the only ones who still exist. They stood a candidate in the local elections in May and very occasionally do a publicity stunt or table-top leafleting session, but apart from that it’s been all quiet from them as well!

We will continue to monitor the activities of fascist and far-right groups in the region and we welcome any information that people can give. From now on we will only update the blog with local news or to advertise or report on anti-fascist activities and events elsewhere in the country. We give our full support to the newly formed Anti-Fascist Network, and we’ll continue to attend call-outs and events when and where possible. 

For us, militant anti-fascism isn’t a means to an end in itself, and as individuals we also focus our time on other areas of class struggle and revolutionary politics. We are active in community projects, alternative media projects, workers unions and a whole host of other social, environment or animal rights struggles. We believe that as long as capitalism exists, inequality and division will exist. For working class solidarity, social revolution and a fighting anti-fascist movement – 3 Counties Anti-fascists.

More racism at another local hunt

Yet another local hunt has been accused of racism after followers of the Heythrop Hunt, which hunts in parts of Gloucestershire, were caught making racial slurs on the video below.

This comes after two other recent incidents of racism from the hunt masters of neighbouring hunts.

In January we reported on the arrest of 33-year-old huntsman Lee Peters, of the Herefordshire-based Ross Harriers, for racially abusing a hunt saboteur. Even the Daily Mail picked up on this one, publishing a surprisingly accurate article which you can see here.

Alan Morgan, previous huntsman for the Cotswold Vale Farmers Foxhounds, plead guilty to racial abuse aimed at a saboteur in Gloucestershire in December.  This followed a string of violent incidents at the same hunt. You can see more information on the case here.

3CAFA would like to send  a clear message to the hunts in this region, racism will not be tolerated. You have now put yourselves in the sights of anti-racist activists. We would also like to send our support to those who continue to expose this unacceptable behaviour and stand up to the scum every weekend.

Anti-fascist news update

London Calling

The far-right English Defence League recently went on another jolly in London, rallying in Barking with a poor turn out yet again. Not content with the days outing, a group of around 20 decided to pay a trip to Whitechapel. After hitting the pubs, the drunken mob assembled outside the East London mosque.

According to one anti-fascist witness “They were there briefly, shouting ‘Allah is a paedo’, then almost straight away one of them got knocked out. Within ten minutes there were three or four hundred locals there ready to confront them. There were also TSG [riot police] all over the shop. The EDL were then all arrested for their own safety” Nice one guys!

Note ambulance crews treating injured EDL member on right of the picture

Back in September, 3 Counties Anti-Fascist Alliance joined a mobilisation against the EDL, who planned (and failed) to march into Tower Hamlets. They have it in their heads that getting pissed up, threatening people and marching mob-handed into areas will heal community tensions and deal with the problem of Islamic extremism. How many more times will they try this before they realise that it doesn’t work?

‘Fighting Talk’

Back issues of anti-fascist magazine, ‘Fighting Talk,’ have finally been made available to read online. ‘Fighting Talk’ was the magazine of the UK-wide militant anti-fascist organisation, Anti-Fascist Action, who are widely credited with driving the National Front, British National Party and other fascist groups away from street-based activism and marches in the 1980s and 1990s.You can view the magazine here.

Ex-AFA activists were recently interviewed by magazine Red Pepper. The extensive interview, covering the history and aims of militant anti-fascism, the origins and the activities of AFA can be read here.

Antifa Hack-Attack

Anti-fascist ‘hacktivists’ affiliated with Anonymous have crippled the websites of neo-Nazi groups, as well as leaking membership lists and individuals personal information. As part of ‘Operation Blitzkrieg,’ 15 websites linked to Germany’s extreme far-right National Democratic Party have been shut down, along with the details of UK customers of neo-Nazi music enterprise, Blood and Honour, and the BNP membership list being released. To view all of the leaks, go to the NaziLeaks website.

From the 32 counties

Anti-Fascist Action Ireland have been busy lately, keeping an eye on visiting fascists, opposing Nick Griffin’s visit to UCD and taking part in speaking tours and commemorations. You can check out the latest issue of their newsletter, ‘In the Area,’ here.

Anti-fascists over there are also organising to oppose a planned visit by Nick Griffin to speak at Cork Uni. We wish our comrades over there every success for spoiling his little visit.

“Worcester City’s Lee Smith in racism row”

As FIFA president Sepp Blatter makes the absurd claim that racism doesn’t occur on the football pitch amidst the John Terry/Anton Ferdinand racism saga, 28-year-old local lad, Lee Smith, shows what an ignorant twat he is after a comment made from his Twitter account.

The winger for Worcester City Football Club, who is from Gloucester and still lives in the county, posted a comment on his Twitter page on armistice day saying: “Respect to all the heroes 11/11/11 now to all the illegal *****, fuck off out of are country all call of duty could become a reality – kill um.”

Lee Smith – the Worcester City winger who thinks making jokes about killing illegal immigrants is ‘banter’

He later removed the comment and deleted his profile, claiming he did not realise the comment was open for everyone to see and that he ‘can’t be a racist as he has black friends.’ The idiot later said, “I am not going to apologise because what I said is what I think, because a lot of the illegal immigrants have taken jobs from people here.”

Worcester City Football Club has been quick to distance themselves from the comments and have suspended him from the team. Vice chairman, Colin Layland, has said, “We take racism very seriously, this took us all by surprise. We are involved in Kick Out Racism, which has basically been taken out of our hands by someone we employ.”

3 Counties AFA believe the solution is quite simple; take the lead on the issue of racism in football and make an active stand by showing the silly prick where to go.

Local plod are currently investigating.

*Update from the Worcester Evening News 23.11.11 – Twitter row footballer arrested

Battle of Cable Street Remembered

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, the day when East End anti-fascist, Irish, Jewish, anarchist, communist and socialist groups united to block the march of Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists. Hundreds of thousands of locals gathered, blocked the path of the march and fought running battles with fascists and the police who were drafted in to clear the march route. This use of mass community direct action was hugely successful and the march was eventually abandoned. Around 175 people were injured, and about 150 were arrested.

On Sunday 2nd October over 1,000 people took part in a commemoration march in London.