Court defers sentencing in post-Brexit hate crime incident

The Daily Mail reports on the ongoing case of a woman who pled guilty to a charge of a religiously aggravated criminal damage after she walked into an art gallery and abused a Muslim artist telling her “we voted to take our country back again” and damaged an artwork.

Mikhaela Haze, 70, abused artist Yasmeen Sabri before damaging her art exhibit featuring a mannequin in a veil. Sabri was preparing for her “Walk a Mile in her Veil” exhibition at the Royal College of Art in Kensington when the incident happened on 30 June.

The court heard that when Haze was interviewed by police following the incident she “said she didn’t like the burka as she used to be a design artist for the Beatles and never liked the burka.”

Haze pleaded guilty to causing religiously aggravated criminal damage when she appeared before Westminster magistrates’ court last month. She also apologised to Ms Sabri saying “I’m very sorry to the lady who I offended.”

Haze was due to be sentenced today but the court has now deferred sentencing until 12 November so that a report on Ms Haze’s mental health and alcohol problems can be compiled.

Prosecutor Zahid Hussain said that Ms Sabri did not want Haze punished and instead wanted her “to receive help and rehabilitation for her drink problem”.