British man arrested after picture of burning poppy posted on internet

[jimmy olsen]

THOUGHT CRIME!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/nov/12/kent-man-arrested-burning-poppy

Kent man arrested after picture of burning poppy posted on internet

Police say that the man from Aylesham had been arrested on suspicion of 'malicious telecommunications'

    Ben Quinn   
    The Guardian, Monday 12 November 2012   



Police in Kent have arrested a man after a picture of burning poppy was posted on a social networking site.

The force said in a short press release posted on its website that the man, from Aylesham, had been arrested on suspicion of "malicious telecommunications".

"This follows a posting on a social network site of a burning poppy," said the statement on Sunday, which added that he was in police custody awaiting interview. Police provided no other details of the incident, which comes as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is preparing to release interim guidelines for prosecution of offences on social media.

Padraig Reidy, of Index on Censorship, which campaigns on freedom of expression issues, said: "News of this arrest is very worrying. Index hopes that when the CPS issues its guidelines on free speech later this month, due regard will be given to free speech online."

The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, announced in September that he was launching a public consultation and issue guidelines on how to deal with the daily avalanche of hundreds of millions of comments – some abusive, some potentially criminal – posted on social media sites.

According to the website of the CPS, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, section 1, "deals with the sending to another of any article which is indecent or grossly offensive, or which conveys a threat, or which is false, provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

The CPS website states: "The offence covers letters, writing of all descriptions, electronic communications, photographs and other images in a material form, tape recordings, films and video recordings."

Last year, Police in Northern Ireland arrested a number of people after a picture of two youths burning a poppy was posted on Facebook.

In another case, also dating from 2011, a who burned replica poppies on Remembrance Day in London was fined £50 after being found guilty of a public order offence.

Emdadur Choudhury, a member of Muslims Against Crusades (MAC), was guilty of a "calculated and deliberate" insult to the dead and those who mourn them when he burned two large plastic poppies during a two-minute silence, according to the district judge in the case.

• This article was amended on 12 November 2012. The director of public prosecutions is Keir Starmer, not Ken Starmer. This has been corrected.

[Martinus]

This is fucking ridiculous.

[Tamas]

The UK would be by far the easiest emigration target for me, but I must say I am growing less and less fond of the idea. At least here back home I have a good idea of what is accepted behavior by the regime and what not.

[Valmy]

According to the website of the CPS, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, section 1, "deals with the sending to another of any article which is indecent or grossly offensive, or which conveys a threat, or which is false, provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

British politeness.  It is not just a good idea, it is the law.

[jimmy olsen]

According to the website of the CPS, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, section 1, "deals with the sending to another of any article which is indecent or grossly offensive, or which conveys a threat, or which is false, provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

British politeness.  It is not just a good idea, it is the law.

The Judges of Brit-Cit must be terrifying.

[Tamas]

provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

[/quote]

So all movie theaters showing horror movies can be closed, and their owners prosecuted?

[Liep]

Good idea, they should also arrest all postmen so there'll be no more death threats!

[Richard Hakluyt]

provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

So all movie theaters showing horror movies can be closed, and their owners prosecuted?
[/quote]

A badly-worded law from a more robust age. The intent was to criminalise death threats or libellous stuff like calling someone a paedophile. In recent years a few police have started interpreting it as "hurting someone's feelings".

[Gups]

Yep, it's partly the police and its partly the press creating an atmosphere in which the police feel obliged to do this kind of stuff.

Also the police just don't seem to have got their heads around social media.

[Saladin]

provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

So all movie theaters showing horror movies can be closed, and their owners prosecuted?

A badly-worded law from a more robust age. The intent was to criminalise death threats or libellous stuff like calling someone a paedophile. In recent years a few police have started interpreting it as "hurting someone's feelings".
[/quote]

Indeed.

[Razgovory]

provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

So all movie theaters showing horror movies can be closed, and their owners prosecuted?
[/quote]

What, you never hear about the "Video Nasties" thing they had in the UK back in the 1980's?

[Eddie Teach]

provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

Nobody in this forum can edit quotes right.

So all movie theaters showing horror movies can be closed, and their owners prosecuted?

What, you never hear about the "Video Nasties" thing they had in the UK back in the 1980's?
[/quote]

[Viking]

Anybody burning a poppy on the 11.11 is scum and to the best of my knowledge the guy doing this is scum. But civilized countries should not arrest people for insulting prophets or attacking values and ideals of other people.

Arresting this dickwad is wrong.

[Razgovory]

provided there is an intent to cause distress or anxiety to the recipient".

Nobody in this forum can edit quotes right.

So all movie theaters showing horror movies can be closed, and their owners prosecuted?

What, you never hear about the "Video Nasties" thing they had in the UK back in the 1980's?

[/quote]

I thought that poorly quoting someone was part the Tamas message, so I left it as is.

[garbon]

Anybody burning a poppy on the 11.11 is scum and to the best of my knowledge the guy doing this is scum. But civilized countries should not arrest people for insulting prophets or attacking values and ideals of other people.

Arresting this dickwad is wrong.