Leeds man destroyed copies of Quran at St James's Hospital and wrote 'kill Jews' in crayon on prison cell wall
A Leeds man has been found guilty of throwing several copies of the Quran down a hospital toilet and writing ‘kill Jews’ in crayon on his cell wall.
Ibhraim Iqbal, 36, of Leeds, destroyed copies of the Muslim holy book in a prayer room at St James’s Hospital before writing the anti-Semitic message following his arrest.
He was found guilty of two counts of religiously aggravated criminal damage and one further count of criminal damage at Leeds District Magistrates’ Court today (Wednesday).
Iqbal targeted a multi-faith room at St James’s Hospital, last November, smashing a framed Islamic scripture before defacing multiple Qurans, tearing out pages, setting them alight, and using them to block the sink and toilet.
He returned to the hospital two weeks later, on December 9, and deliberately stuffed miscellaneous items down the drains to cause a blockage. The following day, he attempted to access the multi-faith room again but found it locked due to the earlier damage. He was detained by hospital security and subsequently arrested by West Yorkshire Police.
Whilst in custody, Iqbal requested crayons and used them to write "kill Jews" on his cell wall.
Luke Hopkinson, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “Ibhraim Iqbal carried out a deliberate and sustained campaign of hatred, targeting both Muslim and Jewish communities with his actions.
“This comes at a time where our prosecutors are working on the highest ever number of hate crime cases referred to us by police.
"I hope today’s conviction demonstrates the CPS's commitment to tackling religiously aggravated hate crime, and reiterate how we will always seek to prosecute those who target others because of their faith where their conduct strays into criminality."
Iqbal will be sentenced at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Monday, February 16.