Man sentenced for calling New Zealand ‘terrorist’ a hero on Facebook
During the sentence hearing the Chair of the Bench stated: “There is no place in society for racism.”
A man from Manchester has been sentenced today for making racist Facebook comments in the wake of terror attacks in New Zealand in March this year.
47-year-old Pawel Mirkowski uploaded three racially offensive Facebook posts on Sunday 17 March 2019, just two days after 49 people were killed and dozens more were wounded at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Mirkowski said, amongst other offensive things, that the person responsible for the attacks was his ‘hero’.
He was sentenced at Stockport Magistrates’ court to four weeks custody, suspended for 18 months. In addition he was given a 20 day rehabilitation activity requirement plus 200 hours unpaid work, and he was ordered to pay £85 costs and a victim surcharge of £115.
During the sentence hearing the Chair of the Bench stated: “There is no place in society for racism.”
Victoria Norman for the CPS said: “Pawel Mirkowski posted grossly offensive comments on social media at an extremely sensitive time just a few days after innocent people were killed or injured in a terror attack.
“The CPS are committed to treating online hate crime as seriously as offline offences, while taking into account the potential impact on the wider community as well as any known victims.”