The co-founder of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign has been found guilty by a Glasgow Court of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, with behaviour “aggravated by prejudice relating to religion or, in the case of a social or cultural group, perceived religious affiliation”.
Mick Napier, 78, was accused of having targeted Samuel Stein, a member of the city’s Jewish community, after Mr Stein filmed an SPSC demonstration outside a branch of Barclays on Argyle Street in the city centre.
As reported by The Herald, Samuel Stein, a member of the Glasgow Friends of Israel group, told Glasgow Sheriff’s Court that Napier had approached him and “asked me what I think about the chief spiritual leader of the Israeli Defence Force who supports the rape of comely gentile women and would I like to comment.”
Stein, who during the exchange with Napier called him a “moron”, told the court, “I believe he asked me as he knows I’m Jewish – he would have wanted me to possibly agree with what he was proclaiming this man does.
“I think he wanted to put me on the spot as a Jewish person to say that is was okay to rape gentile women.”
Videos of the verbal altercation were shown in court. When asked about the comments in the video, Stein said that “’Baby killer’ is the one I find the most insulting as I am not a baby killer and that what these people are calling me in the streets of Glasgow.”
As well as being found guilty, Napier was also fined £600 by Sheriff John McCormack. A group calling itself the ‘Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee” responded in the wake of the decision, stating that Napier’s lawyer was “launching an immediate appeal against shocking verdicts of ‘racially aggravated’ conduct handed down today at Glasgow Sheriff Court.”
There was no immediate comment by Napier on social media relating to today’s verdict. However, in October, when he was acquitted of two other charges, he tweeted that “The Zios were in court like vultures on a tree branch fantasising about a successful conviction for racism/fake antisemitism that would smear genocide opponents. Their 4th effort will also fail with similar charges on Mon 22 Dec.”
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) is not affiliated with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
In a social media statement, Glasgow Friends of Israel said: “At last justice has caught up with him [Napier] after many years of managing to swerve other charges brought against him.
