A man who stuffed a Koran down a hospital prayer room toilet and scrawled antisemitic graffiti on a police cell wall has been convicted of hate crimes.
Ibrahim Iqbal, 36, was found guilty at Leeds Magistrates’ Court of two counts of religiously aggravated criminal damage and one count of criminal damage.
The court heard in November last year, he defaced several Korans in the multi-faith prayer room at St James’ Hospital in Leeds.
He was said to have torn out pages and set them alight.
Iqbal then forced the destroyed material into a sink and toilet during the rampage.
Prosecutors said Iqbal smashed a framed Islamic scripture during his first visit to the prayer room before returning a fortnight later.
On December 9, he attempted to deliberately block the drains by stuffing miscellaneous items into them.
When Iqbal attempted to access the room again the following day, it had been locked because of the damage he caused. He was later arrested by West Yorkshire Police.
Ibrahim Iqbal started his rampage in the prayer room of St James’ Hospital in Leeds
|After his arrest in December, Iqbal, who has no fixed address, wrote an antisemitic slogan on the wall of his police cell using a crayon, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
He is due to be sentenced on February 16.
Luke Hopkinson, a senior crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said Iqbal had carried out a “deliberate and sustained campaign of hatred, targeting both Muslim and Jewish communities”
“I hope today’s conviction demonstrates the CPS’s commitment to tackling religiously aggravated hate crime, and reiterates how we will always seek to prosecute those who target others because of their faith where their conduct strays into criminality."
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Ibrahim Iqbal was found guilty at Leeds Magistrates’ Court
|The incident came to public attention in December last year when Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust CEO Brendan Brown said the Muslim holy book and a framed chapter of the text had been damaged at the Faith Centre in Bexley Wing.
In an email, Mr Brown described the act as "worrying and completely unacceptable".
He said: "Muslims across the globe place profound spiritual significance in the Holy Quran, and these acts here are Islamophobic and have no place at the trust.
"Religion or belief hate crime, against any religion or belief, is inexcusable and no colleague, patient or member of our communities should have to experience or hear about these kinds of actions.
"I want to take this opportunity to reiterate the board's commitment to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, valued and supported, regardless of their background, faith or identity," he wrote.
West Yorkshire Police said of the incident at the time: "We are aware of the impact crimes of this nature can have within our communities and will be working with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to follow up all available lines of inquiry."
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