Tell MAMA will write to the Attorney General’s office after Terry Eury left court with a suspended sentence last week.
The 56-year-old, who pleaded guilty last month at Thames Magistrates’ Court admitted two counts of religiously aggravated abuse and received a twelve-week sentence suspended for twelve months on May 21.
As the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) made clear, Eury targeted them as returned from a pro-Palestine protest in April as he shouted, “a torrent of Islamophobic language that lasted about two minutes”.
The frightening encounter captured on a mobile phone went viral, drawing wide condemnation and disgust, as members of the public sought to offer support to the Muslim women and others targeted support and identify those responsible.
The Met Police arrested on April 22, with Eury appearing before a judge soon after where he entered his guilty pleas, and according to the prosecution, gave his name to the police as ‘Adolf Hitler’.
Tell MAMA provided a community impact and victim impact statement which the judge partially read out during the sentencing hearing.
Staff present for sentencing described a tense atmosphere as the judge revealed that Eury had previous convictions, including a racially aggravated offence in 2012.
Eury denied calling himself Adolf Hitler, arguing that the biggest motivator was his alcohol intake. Nor did he claim to hold an anti-Muslim animus as: “I go to Indian restaurants run by Muslims, I take cabs driven by Muslims, I used to work with an Iranian Muslim and we had no issues,” adding his remorse and a “desire to move forward”.
For one of the women, who we supported however, the impacts of the abuse and the threat of violence impact her daily routines, changing her routes around the local area and leaving her with physical ailments due to the ongoing mental anguish caused.
The judge also ordered Eury to comply with a three-month alcohol treatment programme.
In the build-up to the sentencing this week, members of the public alerted our staff to materials on social media, including posts on Twitter/X praising Terry Eury. One extreme example, contained the racist P-word epithet, stating that Muslims require ‘mass deportations’, as taxpayers like Mr Eury faced prison for merely “telling the truth”. We flagged this material with the police to investigate.
Following news of the suspended sentence, councillor Ray Morgon, leader of Havering Council, condemned the abuse. He added “There is more that unites us than divides us, and I’m calling on our local community to join me and make it clear that Havering is for everyone.
“We will always treat all our communities fairly and equally.”
In a statement, Varinder Hayre, District Crown Prosecutor and CPS London North Hate Crime Lead said: “Terry Eury’s extreme display of intolerance towards the victims in this case was a hate crime, and his appalling behaviour has understandably had a detrimental and lasting impact on the victims.
“At the sentence hearing today, we used a Community Impact Statement from Tell Mama, an independent victim support service, to further demonstrate the wider impact this display of hatred can have on the local community, causing trauma and fear across society.”
“The CPS has delivered swift justice for the victims, and indeed for the local community of Romford, in this case.
“We won’t hesitate to ensure that hate crimes, against any religion or other protected characteristic, are prosecuted.”