Judge who failed to jail paraglider symbol London protest trio to be investigated

A senior judge who faced a barrage of criticism after he “decided not to punish” three women who had displayed paraglider images at a pro-Palestinian protest in London is to be investigated over alleged bias, reports say.

Tan Ikram, the deputy chief magistrate, who allowed the trio who were convicted of terrorism offences to walk free, is to be investigated over the decision to give convicted defendants conditional discharges, after it emerged that he had recently liked a social media post that branded Israel a “terrorist” and called for a “free Palestine”.

Ikram, 58, who also sits on the body that appoints judges in England and Wales, had liked a LinkedIn post by a barrister who had previously promoted conspiracy theories claiming that Israel allowed October 7th Hamas terror attack.

The Times reports that the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office will review allegations that Ikram was potentially biased and therefore should have stood down from overseeing the trial of the three women.

It follows complaints about the decision by campaigners against antisemitism.

Heba Alhayek, 29, Pauline Ankunda, 26, and Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, were found guilty at Westminster magistrates’ court in February of an offence under the Terrorism Act.

They had displayed the paraglider symbols, linked to support of Hamas, at a protest in London on October 14th.  A lawyer for the trio argued the symbols were actually peace signs in the court.

Showing support for a proscribed terrorist organisation could result in a six-month jail term according to custodial guidelines.

The Times claims that the investigation into alleged bias by Ikram is likely to be completed within a month.

Ikram has previously said he mistakenly  “liked” the post claiming Israel allowed the October 7th attack.