New charge added to private prosecution against David Miller
Campaign Against Antisemitism challenges academic in court
A fourth charge has been added to a private prosecution brought against the former Bristol University academic, David Miller, by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).
Like the other three charges, the fourth complaint relates to social media posts allegedly made by Miller, which the CAA say “cross the line from accepting a philosophical political debate” about the nature of Zionism, to “criminal” material.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Miller was present for the latest stage in a complicated case against him. His defence counsel, Richard Thomas KC, made a bid to claim that the CAA had “an ulterior motive” in pursuing the prosecution, adding that such a motive rendered the prosecution “abusive”.
He questioned why “none of the posts complained of” had been reported to the police, and added that there was internal material within the CAA which had not been disclosed to the court and which could well reveal the alleged “ulterior motive” in bringing the prosecution against Miller.
But barrister Gary Grant, appearing for the CAA, told Judge Michael Snow that the “ulterior motive” submission was “fanciful” and without any evidence. He asked the judge to look at the posts allegedly made by Miller — the latest of which was published in May this year — and which all end with the hashtag “dismantle Zionism”.
One of the posts was particularly pertinent as it related to comments on last year’s Amsterdam riots when Maccabi Tel Aviv played in the Dutch city. Miller, now a presenter on the Iranian-backed Press TV, is said to have told his followers that “every Zionist Jew must be held accountable and de-Zionised”, while in another, posted in March this year, the writer says: “the entire Zionist movement globally must live in fear of accountability until it is dismantled and its ideology eradicated. And let’s be clear, there are Zionists everywhere, in every town and city. Find out where they are.”
Another post read: ““Every genuinely anti-Zionist Jew can count on being kept safe by the movement, when the time comes. Every Zionist Jew must be held accountable and de-Zionised”.
The May post, which has led to the fourth charge against Miller, refers to an IDF soldier from Manchester. Miller allegedly urged people to identify this man — “find him and hold him accountable”.
At the conclusion of Friday’s court proceedings, Judge Snow made a narrow ruling that the CAA should provide more information on the decision-making process which led to its bringing the prosecution. He made it clear that the CAA should go through its internal discussions, but said he was deliberately limiting the scope of this order, because he was not prepared to allow “a fishing expedition” by the defence. The CAA has to provide its disclosure material by November 14.
No ruling has yet been made on Miller’s application to throw out the prosecution altogether. His next court appearance is set for mid-December.
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