The teenager who ‘insulted six dead soldiers on
Facebook’ appears in court charged with ‘gross offence’
By CHRIS BROOKE
PUBLISHED: 00:57, 5 July 2012 | UPDATED: 10:57, 5 July 2012
Accused: Azhar Ahmed arrives at court wearing a cap and hoodie
A teenager appeared in court yesterday charged with making offensive comments on Facebook about the deaths of six British soldiers.
Azhar Ahmed, 19, has been accused of committing an offence under the Communications Act of sending a ‘grossly offensive’ message.
At an earlier he pleaded not guilty to the charge and was due to stand trial at Huddersfield Magistrates Court yesterday.
Ahmed is alleged to have posted the insulting Facebook message on his profile page on 8 March – two days after the soldiers were killed in an explosion in Afghanistan.
Ahmed walked into court wearing a cap and with a white woollen hoodie pulled up over this head.
The District Judge heard no evidence and adjourned the trial until 14 September due to an unexpected legal problem.
Ahmed, of Ravensthorpe, West Yorkshire, was released on bail.
Around 20-30 far right protesters appeared at Huddersfield Magistrates Court for the hearing and packed out the public gallery.
At an earlier court appearance around 50 protestors staged a noisy demonstration with placards calling for those who insult British armed forces to be jailed.
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The Facebook comments in March this year followed the tragic deaths of six British soldiers. The six men were killed in the deadliest single attack on British forces in Afghanistan since 2001.
The soldiers who died – five of them aged between 19 and 21 – were killed when their Warrior armoured vehicle was blown up by a massive improvised explosive device.
Killed: The six soldiers (from top left) Sergeant Nigel Coupe, Corporal Jake Hartley Private Anthony Frampton, Private Christopher Kershaw, Private Daniel Wade and Private Daniel Wilford
