Ex-UKIP member faces custodial sentence after sending "grossly offensive" email to Cambridge mosque

The local paper, Cambridge News, reports on the trial of a former marine and ex-UKIP candidate in the South Cambridgeshire District Council elections last May, who is on trial for sending “grossly offensive” communications to a mosque in Cambridge and posting anti-Muslim slurs on his Facebook page accompanied by a photo of a pig’s head.

Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard that Ian Couch, 54, sent the email to the mosque in Kirkwood Road, Cambridge, on August 20 after becoming agitated at news coverage of the beheading of American journalist, James Foley, by ISIS.

Crouch is said to have emailed the mosque a “grossly offensive” message which was opened by the mosque’s receptionist, Abdul Muquith, a local taxi driver.

Abdul Muquith told the court, “I was shocked because we’d never received any emails in the past in that kind of language – we were scared that something might happen in the morning when he arrived.”

The paper reports that Abdul Muquith went on to discover more anti-Islamic content on Couch’s Facebook page, which has a public privacy setting. Abdul Muquith looked up Crouch on the social media site after receiving the initial email.

Abdul Muquith explained to the court, “There were pictures and a lot of language which was against Muslims and Islam and a lot of statements about putting pigs’ heads in the mosques.

“There are no words to describe how shocking it was for me to see things like that on a Facebook page.”

The court also heard that when arrested Crouch had a pig’s head in his refrigerator.

Lead magistrate Marisa Johnson rejected Crouch’s defence of ‘freedom of expression’ saying Crouch was attempting to defend the “indefensible”.

She said: “We find the email was offensive – we are offended by it and it had the intention of causing offence and distress to the people who received it.

“You are in a very serious situation, particularly at these volatile and serious times.

“We consider it a hate crime and are looking at a custodial sentence with a six-week starting point.

“We can’t tolerate this kind of behaviour from anyone which is likely to make matters worse for people in the community.”

The local paper further reports on the reaction of the local UKIP party association. Group leader for Cambridgeshire County Council, Paul Bullen, told the paper that Crouch was no longer a member of the party and that the party had acted to remove him as a member after it became aware “that he was anti-Islamic and that he didn’t have our standards”.

Bullen added, “I believe his conviction is correct and his actions are damaging to the community – you can’t judge a religion on a few fanatics.”

The case comes at a time when Islamophobia online is in the news amid concerns that the criminal justice system and social media companies arenot doing enough to regulate “grossly offensive” content on Facebook and Twitter.