Teenager charged over Facebook comments.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....lled-Afghanistan.html

Should Azhar Ahmed had been arrested and charged over his inappropriate Facebook comments?

Perhaps some should now be careful of the comments they make on AnswerBank?

[TheOtherHalf]

I always TRY to be careful what I say on here as I dont want to offend anyone, honest :>)

[ummmm]

Well it doesn't actually say what he said....so it's hard to have an opinion.

[jackthehat]

1. Apparently so.
2. AB is not the same sort of thing, at all. Although it would be pleasing if 'some' could be prevailed upon to temper their comments.....

[anotheoldgit]

ummmm

Exactly, that is also my feeling.

Until we actually know in which way or in what words he made his comments it is hard to make a judgement either way.

But I considered it, thought provoking enough to enter the questions.

[sp1814]

Racism goes both ways.

If John Terry can be charged, then so can any one of any race.

One other thing that should be taken into consideration. Your online presence is not divorced from your real life presence. What this lad (allegedly) did electronically, is put up posters with racist insults against murdered soldiers.

He may have done it online, but that's no different from publicly broadcasting (allegedly) racist views.

[ummmm]

If that's the case then he should be charged.

[FredPuli43]

Damn, we can't comment on the Daily Mail site itself 'because of legal reasons'. Well, that saves a lot of DM online readers from being arrested!

All ABers are careful, aren't we ? Though we hardly need to be. None of us are obsessed with expressing racial or religious hatred,or fear and prejudice, or anything of the kind. We are particularly careful not to be misunderstood. Or do you have some names to name, aog?.

[Booldawg]

I think you have to be alot more careful on FB as you're using your real identity in front of an audience who knows you.

What you can get away with is totally dependant on your level of anominity. Whats the worst that can happen with an ambigious username linked to a hotmail address - banned by the site admin.

Its tame on here when you read comments on YouTube videos etc.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

/// What this lad (allegedly) did electronically, is put up posters with racist insults against murdered soldiers. ///

What then is the difference to all those who openly held up posters on the streets, with insults against our soldiers, but were not likewise arrested?

Would it be that those insults were acceptable because they did not contain any racist element?

[Gromit]

AOG

The Poppy burners posters, while insulting and offensive, they were not racist. Here is one such.

http://img.thesun.co....otest380_1162387a.jpg

[sp1814]

AOG

The difference is that the posters weren't actually racist:

http://img.dailymail....lim220806_600x400.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co...005DC-314_634x408.jpg

The posters are stating a point of view, that British soldiers committed acts of butchery in Basra.

This is along the same lines as the anti-war demonstrators who held up posters of Tony Blair (or as they wittily renamed him Bliar) calling him to account as a war criminal.

Without knowing what Azhar Ahmed actually wrote, we cannot compare his language to that of the protestors in my links.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

Agree, but in your first Daily Mail example, they may not be racist, but they are certainly 'threatening to kill' posters.

Is that not also an arrestable offence?

[Davethedog]

As much as what he says outrages me, no he shouldn't of, we are supposed to live in a democracy which means freedom of speech.

I have said for a long time the internet is just the dawn of Big Brother once the press is muzzled, freedom of speech will be a luxury.

[youngmafbog]

Depends on what he said. However it seems more and more you cannot express an opinion thses days especially if it is offensive to someone (and there always seems to be someone)

[sp1814]

AOG

That first picture is right at the edge of being legal.

The posters say, "Death to those who insult Islam"...however, that's too vague a threat.

If it said, "Kill Tony Blair", then that would be a specific threat, and very probably arrestable.

[sp1814]

Incidentally, going off-topic slightly...I think a law should be passed which should cover anti-captialist protestors, the EDL, Muslim protestors etc, that if you take to the street to protest, you may do so, but if you should not be allowed to cover your face.

That should be an arrestable offence.

[sir.prize]

It is not difficult to see precisely what Azhar Ahmed wrote in his Facebook comments. Type his name into Google. And yes in my opinion, he was rightly arrested and charged.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

/// I think a law should be passed which should cover anti-captialist protestors, the EDL, Muslim protestors etc, that if you take to the street to protest, you may do so, but if you should not be allowed to cover your face.///

/// That should be an arrestable offence. ////

What about protesting wearers of the Burka?

[boxtops]

IMO that would apply too, AOG, so you don't get anyone protesting who's hiding their faces.

[sp1814]

Ooh...good point.

Hadn't thought that one through. I admit, I don't know about that. I really haven't a clue.

Just read what Azhar Ahmed (allegedly - God, I'm getting tired of that caveat)wrote. Up until midway through, I can understand his anger, expecially when you think of the 11 innocent Muslims, including women and children who were executed late last week.

However, he dives off the deep end in his final sentences.

Also, his grammar is frickin' inexcusable.