Woman who posted antisemitic conspiracies about Grenfell jailed for 11 months

A conspiracy theorist who claimed on Facebook that Grenfell Tower victims were “burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice” has been jailed.

Tahra Ahmed, 51, posted “virulently” antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media days after the fire in west London that claimed the lives of 72 people.

Following a trial at the Old Bailey, she was found guilty of two counts of stirring up racial hatred by publishing written material.

On Friday, Ahmed was jailed for 11 months, a court official said.

Previously, prosecutor Hugh French told jurors that an examination of her account revealed two posts in January and June 2017 that “crossed the line as to what is acceptable in a liberal society”.

On June 18 2017 – four days after the Grenfell Tower fire – Ahmed posted a video on Facebook of the blaze and referred to it being a “Jewish sacrifice”, the Old Bailey heard.

She stated: “I’ve been at the scene, at the protest and at the community meetings and have met many of the victims… some who were still in the same clothes they escaped in.

“They are very real and genuine, their pain and suffering is raw and deep and their disgusting neglect by authorities continues.

“Watch the footage of people trapped in the inferno with flames behind them.

“They were burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice.”

The post went on to link Grenfell to an antisemitic conspiracy around the Twin Towers destruction in New York.

An earlier post, on January 26 2017, also set out an antisemitic conspiracy theory, jurors heard.

A police investigation into Ahmed’s activities arose as a result of a story published in The Times newspaper on December 11 2017 which focused on some of the people who attended public meetings after the Grenfell fire.

An examination of Ahmed’s Facebook account revealed a history of antisemitic comments.

Ahmed, from Tottenham, north London, denied wrong-doing, telling jurors that her posts were political rather than antisemitic.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “For years we have pursued justice against Tahra Ahmed and today we are vindicated by this strong sentence, which sends a very clear message to those who seek to stir up anti-Jewish racism through conspiracy theories.

“Ms Ahmed sought to twist the Grenfell Tower tragedy to fit her venomous world view in which it seems that any evil can be attributed to Jews. She used people’s suffering and anger in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy and tried to wield it as a weapon against Jews before an audience of tens of thousands on social media. We are pleased that she will now go to prison for her wicked fabrications.

“As we have seen, her hatred has not only enabled her to abuse the Grenfell tragedy, but also to accuse Jews of being responsible for 9/11 and of supposedly exaggerating the Holocaust. As the prosecution observed, she used her position as an aid volunteer in the aftermath of Grenfell to ‘bait the mob’ against Jewish people, making her conduct particularly repulsive.”