(London) After the rioters, the British justice system began on Friday to severely condemn those accused of having stirred up online the far-right riots of recent days in the United Kingdom, where the authorities remain on alert before the weekend.
Apart from residual incidents in Northern Ireland on Thursday evening, the rest of the country has not seen any fresh outbreak of violence since Tuesday, with authorities putting the lull down to the speed and firmness of the judicial response.
Nearly 500 people have been arrested, around 150 have been charged and the courts have already handed down dozens of convictions against rioters and now Internet users.
Jordan Parlour, 28, was sentenced to 20 months in prison, at least half of which must be served in custody, for inciting racial hatred over Facebook posts calling for attacks on a hotel housing asylum seekers.
His conviction is the first of its kind since the start of the racist violence that has taken place since the murder of three girls on July 29, against a backdrop of online rumors about the suspect’s profile. Denounced by Elon Musk as reminiscent of the “Soviet Union”, his case has been highlighted by the authorities as a symbol of their determination to include Internet users and digital platforms in their judicial response to the events.
PHOTO OWEN HUMPHREYS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A protester is arrested by police in Middlesbrough on August 4
Moments later, a 26-year-old father of three was sentenced even more severely to three years and two months in prison for also calling on social media to set fire to hotels housing asylum seekers.
In the streets, after anti-racist rallies bringing together thousands of people on Wednesday evening in several cities, more than a thousand demonstrators, sometimes carrying placards saying “fascists out”, denounced the violence on Friday in Belfast.
Opposite them, around a hundred anti-immigration protesters had gathered but the two demonstrations dispersed without incident, noted an AFP journalist.
In phone calls with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and police officials from Scotland, where he is on holiday, Charles III thanked the police on Friday for their action in the face of “the attacks and delinquency of a small number”.
PHOTO ROBERT MACDONALD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
King Charles III and Reverend Janet Easton Berry, August 4
The sovereign, whose silence on the subject has attracted criticism, “hopes that the shared values of mutual respect and understanding will continue to strengthen and unify the nation,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
“Lawless zone”
The government says it remains vigilant as the weekend approaches, particularly concerned about the resumption of the national football championship, while the far right has historical links with hooligan circles.
Visiting a London police command centre on Friday morning, Keir Starmer called on the police to remain “on high alert”.
The Prime Minister, to whom French President Emmanuel Macron has given his “full support”, said he was “absolutely convinced” that the “rapid” police and judicial response had “had a real effect” on the calm of recent days. Especially since news channels are broadcasting live some court hearings during which rioters are being notified of their sentences.
The violence erupted after rumours spread online that the suspect in the Southport stabbing was a Muslim asylum seeker. The 17-year-old boy, who was charged and detained, was in fact born in Wales, police said. Media reports said his parents were from Rwanda.
Social media “is not a lawless zone,” Keir Starmer insisted on Friday, promising that the government would “look into” the issue, after having already warned social media and its leaders in recent days.
Some, such as London Mayor Sadiq Khan, are calling on the government to review a new online safety law passed last year that has yet to come into full force.