CAA taking advice on legal action against CPS over move to block private prosecution of Nazim Ali, leader of pro-Hizballah parade through London

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has moved to block Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) from privately prosecuting Nazim Ali, the leader of the annual “Al Quds Day” pro-Hizballah parade through central London. The parade is notorious for the crowds of demonstrators who march through London in support of the terrorist organisation, which seeks the murder of all Jews worldwide, carrying out bombings worldwide, including two in London.

Our private prosecution centred on Mr Ali’s statements over a portable public address system at last year’s parade, including:

• “Some of the biggest corporations who are supporting the Conservative Party are Zionists. They are responsible for the murder of the people in Grenfell, in those towers in Grenfell. The Zionist supporters of the Tory Party. Free, Free, Palestine…It is the Zionists who give money to the Tory Party to kill people in high-rise blocks. Free, Free, Palestine. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
• “Careful of those Rabbis who belong to the Board of Deputies, who have got blood on their hands, who agree with the killing of British soldiers. Do not allow them in your centres.”

The CPS declined to prosecute Mr Ali last year and that is why CAA had to launch our private prosecution. Not only did the CPS refuse to do its job and uphold the law by prosecuting Mr Ali, now it is blocking CAA from doing so privately. The CPS has done this by using its statutory power to take over our private prosecution and then discontinue it just days before Mr Ali was due to face CAA’s lawyers at City of London Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Despite prosecuting many thousands of hate crimes each year, the CPS has not yet been known to conduct more than two dozen prosecutions of antisemitic hate crimes in any year.

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This decision by the CPS is an appalling betrayal of British Jews, and we are now taking advice on using judicial review proceedings to force the CPS to either prosecute Mr Ali itself or let us get on with the job. We have called for zero tolerance enforcement of the law against antisemitism and that is what politicians have promised, but it seems that the CPS is not only abandoning British Jews, it is intent on actively intervening to block us when we stand up for ourselves. Whilst we prepare to take action in the courts, the Attorney General must urgently investigate the behaviour of the CPS and its horrifying resistance to prosecuting antisemites.”

We will be providing more information once we have consulted further with our lawyers.