Racism and fascism - in brief (2)
01 January 2000
Italy: LN secretary charged with instigating racial hatred: The public prosecutor's office in Milan charged Marco Bossi, the secretary of the Lega Nord's section in Arese, near Milan, of "instigating racial hatred". The charge is very rarely used in Italy and was applied to Bossi, (who is not related to LN leader, Umberto), after he plastered walls with offensive posters during last year's European election campaign. The posters depicted an immigrant with the words "Vu' stupra'?" (Wanna rape?) written on it. La Repubblica 11.2.00.
UK: Leeds United players questioned about racist attack: Two Leeds United football players, Jonathon Woodgate and Lee Bowyer, were arrested and questioned about a violent racist attack which left a 19-year old Asian student with serious injuries in January. Sarfraz Najeib, a student, and five friends were attacked and pursued by a gang outside a nightclub in Leeds city centre. Safraz was knocked to the ground and beaten and kicked unconscious and suffered broken ribs, a broken leg, a broken nose and a gashed leg. His brother, Shazad, was also knocked to the ground and beaten. Police, who acknowledged that the attack was racist, questioned the footballers before releasing them on bail. Leeds United football club had a notorious racist following on the terraces during the 1980s, but a concerted campaign by anti-racist supporters - initially greeted with indifference by club officials - eventually drove them out. Anti-racist groups have called for the Football Association and Leeds United to "signal their zero tolerance of racism" by suspending the two players. National Assembly Against Racism news release 19 & 20.1.00.
UK: Michael Menson convictions: Mario Pereira and Harry Charalambous Constantinou were jailed at the Old Bailey for the murder of black musician Michael Menson on 21 December 1999. Pereira was sentenced to life for murder and Constantinou received 12 years for manslaughter; a third man was jailed for 21 months for attempting to pervert the course of justice. Ozgay Cevat, who fled the UK after the killing, had already been jailed in Cyprus for his role in Michael's murder. Michael had been racially abused and assaulted before being set alight on the North Circular Road, London on 28 January 1997; he died from his injuries on February 16. Despite overwhelming evidence that he had been murdered, police treated Michael's death as a suicide and only determined campaigning by his family, who refused to accept the police interpretation of events, led to an inquest returning a verdict of unlawful killing in September 1998. Michael's case was taken up by the race and violent crimes task force (CO24) and the suspects were arrested and charged. The family are now demanding that the Police Complaints Authority report, investigating their complaints about the handling of Michael's murder, be made public.