Five UK Muslim men face trial for distributing 'gay death penalty' flyers

London, Jan 11 (ANI): A group of five Muslim men in Britain are facing trial on charges of inciting hatred after distributing flyers calling for gay people to be executed as punishment for their sexuality.

According to the Daily Mail, a leaflet distributed by the group said the death penalty had been passed against all homosexuals and showed a mannequin hanging from a noose.

Another showed a figure burning in a lake of fire with a list of punishments for homosexual acts.

The five defendants, Ihjaz Ali, 42, Razwan Javed, 28, Kabir Ahmed, 28, Umar Javed, 38, and Mehboob Hussain, 44, all from Derby, are the first to be prosecuted under new laws banning the stirring up of hatred due to sexual orientation.

They were arrested following complaints about leaflets distributed in Derby before a gay pride parade in July 2010.

The first leaflet called 'Death Penalty?', claimed that Allah permitted the destruction of gay people and 'the only question is how it should be carried out'.

The second, called 'Turn or Burn', featured the figure in a blazing lake with the warning that the decriminalisation of homosexuality was 'the root of all problems'.

A third, 'GAY - God Abhors You' -told of severe punishment for homosexuals.

The Derby Crown Court heard that all five defendants accepted they distributed the leaflets, but deny charges of intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation under laws introduced in March 2010.

According to the report, the maximum penalty for the offences is seven years in jail. (ANI)

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