LONDON, UK – A Conservative Member of Parliament Bob Stewart has been found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offense after he told a campaigner to “go back to Bahrain”.
During a protest near a Foreign Office building, Stewart displayed “racial hostility” toward a protester, as per court proceedings.
According to Sky news report, the MP for Beckenham in southeast London, engaged in a heated exchange on December 14 last year, telling activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei to “go away” with remarks like, “You’re taking money off my country.”
A video presented during the trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court also captured him saying, “Now shut up, you stupid man.”
BBC report that Alwadaei, who had experienced mistreatment in Bahrain during the Arab Spring, testified that returning there would put his life at risk.
He asserted that Stewart had taken trips to Bahrain funded by its regime, causing him to feel unsafe, dehumanized, and unwelcome in the UK.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled Stewart guilty of a racially aggravated public order offense and imposed a £600 fine, with additional legal costs totaling £1,435, but no jail sentence.