Nigel Pelham of Sussex, England, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison after being found guilty on “eight counts of publishing threatening written material intending to stir up religious hatred against Muslims,” according to the Sussex police.
Hate Crimes Sergeant Peter Allen said, “Nigel Pelham used Facebook to express some truly offensive views, with no understanding of how serious his actions were. Many people see social media as a harmless and sometimes faceless place to air their opinions, however I hope this shows we will not tolerate this type of behaviour and will act when someone reports their concern about what someone is posting.”
This man used Facebook to express his hatred for muslims & has gone to prison #WeStandTogether against hate crimes https://t.co/Bo7OCDADKu
— Sussex Police (@sussex_police) June 20, 2017
Pelham, 50, was convicted for eight posts he made between February and November of 2015, which included a post where he suggested people “put a Muslim on top of a bonfire.”
Sergeant Allen called on residents of Sussex to report their fellow citizens should they find anything offensive posted on social media. “I encourage people who witness such content, to report it to the provider of the social media platform, but such reports can also be made to us online,” he said.