Natalie Turner, instructed by Scott McLaughlin of Murrays Solicitors, represented a police officer charged with terrorism offences. Natalie’s client was sentenced by Chief Magistrate Goldspring on 4 June 2024 to an 18 month community order with rehabilitation days and unpaid work requirements. The case was widely reported in the national press.
Natalie’s client pleaded Guilty at the first opportunity to two offences under section 13(1A) of the Terrorism Act 2000, namely publishing images in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he supported a proscribed group (Hamas). The client had shared two screenshots of prominent Hamas figures accompanied by quotes to his WhatsApp stories.
Natalie was instructed to represent the client from initial charge to the conclusion of the case. There are no Sentencing Council Guidelines for this offence and sentencing was therefore a complicated exercise that required consideration of the overarching guidelines and other reported cases. Natalie prepared a detailed sentencing note which was specifically referred to by the Chief Magistrate in his sentencing remarks. Whilst SDJ Goldspring was clear that the custody threshold had been passed, he was persuaded that a community order would better meet the sentencing aims of both rehabilitation and punishment.
Reports:
BBC News – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c800xr94x5lo