Leeds man convicted after defacing Qurans and scrawling antisemitic graffiti

A Leeds man who threw several copies of the Quran into a toilet at a hospital scrawling antisemitic graffiti on the walls of a police cell has been convicted.

Ibhraim Iqbal, 36, has been found guilty of religiously aggravated criminal damage at Leeds Magistrates’ Court after the incidents late last year.

The offences occurred at St James’s Hospital in Leeds between November 29 and December 10.

In November, Iqbal targeted the hospital’s multi-faith room, smashing Islamic scripture frames before tearing pages from Qurans, setting them on fire, and using them to block the sink and toilet.

He returned to the hospital on December 9, causing further damage by stuffing miscellaneous items down the drains.

Following his arrest, while in police custody, Iqbal requested crayons and wrote "kill Jews" on his cell wall.

CCTV footage linked Iqbal to the scene. Prosecutors demonstrated his similar method of operation to secure the prior conviction.

Luke Hopkinson, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, commented:

“Ibhraim Iqbal carried out a deliberate and sustained campaign of hatred, targeting both Muslim and Jewish communities with his actions."

“I hope today’s conviction demonstrates the CPS's commitment to tackling religiously aggravated hate crime."

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