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Pakistani web developer charged over fake details spread about Southport accused
By Pa Reporter,
2 hours ago
Disorder broke out in various locations in the UK in the wake of the Southport killings, including in Middlesborough, pictured (Owen Humphreys/PA) PA Wire
A Pakistani web developer is facing a criminal charge over claims he helped spread misinformation about the accused Southport attacker.
Farhan Asif, 32, has been charged with cyber terrorism after false claims quickly spread online that the suspect was a Muslim immigrant to the UK, when in fact he was born in Wales and comes from a Christian family.
Pakistani police announced the charge on Wednesday, and said that Asif claimed he was not the original source of the false information, but reposted it from social media.
After three little girls were murdered at a holiday club in Southport on July 29, false rumours including a fake name for the suspect spread on X, formerly Twitter, appearing to originate from an apparent news website called Channel3 Now.
The site’s editor-in-chief posted an apology July 31 for “the misleading information published in a recent article on our website, Channel3 Now. We deeply regret any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.”
The false details spread quickly online in the UK, with riots breaking out in various locations.
There were also anti-racist counter-demonstrations attended by thousands of people.
Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency, which deals with cyber-terrorism, is leading the investigation.
Hundreds of people have so far been charged in the UK following the widespread disorder.
On Wednesday, the latest batch of defendants to appear in court included men accused or convicted of unrest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham .
Trouble flared as the anti-immigration protest descended into violence in Rotherham on August 4 (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)
The unrest outside the Holiday Inn Express, in Manvers, on August 4 left 58 police officers, three police horses and a police dog injured, and saw attempts to storm the building and set it on fire.
Railway engineer Morgan Hardy, 29, of Melton High Street, Rotherham, is accused of throwing chairs, fencing and a fire extinguisher at police guarding the hotel, and denies violent disorder.
Former soldier Peter Beard, 43, of Becknoll Road, Brampton Bierlow, Rotherham, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting pushing aggressively at the line of officers.
The father-of-three, who undertook tours of duty in Kosovo, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, was told by Judge Jeremy Richardson KC: “Your conduct was shameful, it was disgraceful and, in many respects, astonishing.”
Passing sentence at Sheffield Crown Court, the judge heard how Beard served in the Royal Green Jackets between 1998 and 2003, and said he was “astonished” that the defendant had become involved as he had been “on the receiving end” of public order incidents as a peacekeeper.
The disorder saw missiles thrown at the police and attempts to storm the building (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)
A 27-year-old man who threw a wood panel onto a fire outside the hotel admitted a charge of arson with intent to endanger life.
Recorder of Sheffield Judge Jeremy Richardson KC told Thomas Birley his offending is “unquestionably” the most serious of all those he has dealt with in the last fortnight in relation to the rioting outside the Holiday Inn Express, at Manvers, Rotherham, on August 4.
Birley, of Rowms Lane, Swinton, Rotherham, who also admitted violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon, will be sentenced on September 6.
Elsewhere Jake Lowther, 20, of Abrams Fold, Banks was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders’ institute for throwing stones at police in Southport.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that he picked up two pieces of brick or stone from a broken wall and threw them towards police, with one hitting a riot shield.
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