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LONDON: A British MP who once commanded UN peacekeeping troops in Bosnia was fined on Friday after being found guilty of racist insults.
Conservative MP Robert Stewart74, was found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offense and ordered to pay £600 ($743) plus costs after a one-day trial at a central London court.
The former army officer was confronted by human rights activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei after an event at the Bahraini embassy in December last year.
Alwadaei, who was protesting outside, shouted: “Bob StewartHow much did you sell yourself to the Bahraini regime?”
The MP replied: “Go away, I hate you. You’re making a big fuss. Go back to Bahrain.”
In footage played during a trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Stewart told Alwadaei: “You are taking money from my country, leave.”
He also said, “Now shut up, you idiot. »
The activist told Judge Paul Goldspring he was exercising his right to protest allegations of corruption and human rights abuses in the Middle Eastern country by questioning Stewart.
He affirmed that he had not intended to insult the MP, whom he accused of being financed by Bahrain and of acting as a “notorious defender” of the regime.
The protester also claimed that during a trip to the country, Stewart chanted “God save the king of Bahrain.”
“I feel like I’ve been dehumanized, like I’m someone who’s not welcome in the UK,” Alwadaei said when asked about the exchange.
Alwadaei, director of the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said that if he returned to Bahrain he would “undoubtedly be killed and tortured.”
Stewart, apologized for his comments last December, telling the Guardian newspaper, which first reported the incident, that he had been “constantly taunted”.
He commanded The United Nations peacekeeping forces in Bosnia during the Balkan conflict in the 1990s, he retired from the military in 1996 before becoming an MP in 2010.
At the hearing, Stewart insisted, “I’m not racist.”
Goldspring said: “I accept that he is not racist per se, but that is not the case against him. Good men can do bad things.”
Conservative MP Robert Stewart74, was found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offense and ordered to pay £600 ($743) plus costs after a one-day trial at a central London court.
The former army officer was confronted by human rights activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei after an event at the Bahraini embassy in December last year.
Alwadaei, who was protesting outside, shouted: “Bob StewartHow much did you sell yourself to the Bahraini regime?”
The MP replied: “Go away, I hate you. You’re making a big fuss. Go back to Bahrain.”
In footage played during a trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Stewart told Alwadaei: “You are taking money from my country, leave.”
He also said, “Now shut up, you idiot. »
The activist told Judge Paul Goldspring he was exercising his right to protest allegations of corruption and human rights abuses in the Middle Eastern country by questioning Stewart.
He affirmed that he had not intended to insult the MP, whom he accused of being financed by Bahrain and of acting as a “notorious defender” of the regime.
The protester also claimed that during a trip to the country, Stewart chanted “God save the king of Bahrain.”
“I feel like I’ve been dehumanized, like I’m someone who’s not welcome in the UK,” Alwadaei said when asked about the exchange.
Alwadaei, director of the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said that if he returned to Bahrain he would “undoubtedly be killed and tortured.”
Stewart, apologized for his comments last December, telling the Guardian newspaper, which first reported the incident, that he had been “constantly taunted”.
He commanded The United Nations peacekeeping forces in Bosnia during the Balkan conflict in the 1990s, he retired from the military in 1996 before becoming an MP in 2010.
At the hearing, Stewart insisted, “I’m not racist.”
Goldspring said: “I accept that he is not racist per se, but that is not the case against him. Good men can do bad things.”
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