20/07/23
North London student who threatened to blow up The O2 and sent 'Long live Al Qaeda' to the Met Police walks free
A North London schoolboy who started a bomb scare at the O2, writing 'kill yourself you stupid white filth' and 'Long live Al Qaeda' to the Metropolitan Police, has been spared jail. University student Faress Mezine, 18, of Exchange Close in New Southgate, was labelled 'immature' and an 'idiot' by his defence lawyer as he appeared at Harrow Crown Court on Wednesday (July 19).
Prosecuting Dipan Varsani told the court how on April 8 2022 Mezine sent multiple direct messages to the Met Police's Instagram account, threatening to blow up Europe's biggest music arena in Greenwich. "Multiple messages were sent, one in the Arabic language translated 'Kill yourself you stupid white filth'. Another said 'I will bomb the O2 in 13 hours' and 'Long live Al Qaeda'," Mr Varsani said.
The threat was spotted by the police social media team, prompting an investigation involving phone checks and data requests and a 13 hour armed response at the O2, the court heard. "Clearly they had to act on the information," Mr Varsani said. Police then tracked down Mezine via an email address linked to his account, but in an interview he suggested "he may have been hacked".
This meant police had to investigate further, tracking Mezine's IP address. "They invited him again and he continued to claim no knowledge of it, that was the sum of the final interview," Mr Varsani said. After Mezine was finally charged, he appeared at Willesden Magistrates' Court on June 9 2023 and pleaded guilty to causing the bomb hoax.
Defending Cathal Macpartholan said: "His family were completely embarrassed and humiliated as was he. Unfortunately being on these computers, being on phones, elicits even more stupid acts. As we would say in Ireland, he was a total eejit, an idiot. He takes seriously what he did, the amount of police time involved in this. Thankfully it was the ramblings of an immature child."
Mr Macpartholan explained his client could not even speak Arabic and had used Google Translate to write the messages. He also said Mezine had previously experienced 'problems expressing himself' to his family, but had 'turned his life around' since starting university.
"He was a youngster trying to fit in, this led to this moment," Mr Macpartholan added. "I spoke to his sister and his parents were furious, absolutely furious with him. It brings a stain not just to his character, but to the character of his family."
Judge Bourne considered Mezine's early guilty plea, previous good character, and the level of harm caused by the messages. "You explained your actions were impulsive and linked to peer group pressure and a desire to impress others," Judge Bourne said. "People who commit this type of crime are almost always sent to prison, but I am convinced that you have changed since."
Sentencing Mezine to 12 months in prison suspended for six months with 150 hours unpaid work and a six month exclusion from the O2, Judge Bourne added: "In a moment that dock officer is going to let you walk out of the front door, but you could easily have gone through the back door into custody... Don't do it again."
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