Man who stalked Dundee MSP Shona Robison ordered to undergo psychiatric tests

A sheriff has ordered that a man who made a “terrifying” social media call for former Scottish health secretary Shona Robison to be “terminated” should be examined in jail by a psychiatrist.

Ala Elbilbaisi, 35, a Palestinian businessman from Glasgow, was found guilty in August 2019 of stalking the 53-year-old politician.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard he had bombarded the SNP MSP with threatening emails and public social media messages, and phoned her office trying to make appointment to meet her in person.

After the case was adjourned for background reports he was brought back to court in handcuffs.

Kevin Corr, defending, said social workers recommended a psychiatric assessment should be carried out, but Elbilbaisi wanted to be sentenced immediately.

Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC said Elbilbaisi had a psychiatric background and had already been the subject of a Mental Health Act compulsion order.

Deferring sentence until October 28th, she said: “I think what is important now is for a psychiatrist to meet with Mr Elbilbaisi in prison.”

The court heard that Elbilbaisi had made a series of “bizarre” posts on Facebook about the Dundee City East constituency MSP.

One said: “This is who truly Shona Robison is, an abuser, and must be terminated at the earliest possible point."

The post, on February 18th, 2019 was followed by another seven days later, which read: “That's what the SNP gang is using to rape civilians.”

Earlier, on January 10th, Elbilbaisi had emailed Ms Robison freakishly accusing her of pursuing him.

The deranged email led to him being made the subject of a Mental Health Act compulsion order in July, resulting in him being briefly detained in a psychiatric ward at Glasgow's Gartnavel Hosptial.

The email had read, “This is another warning for you to stay away from me. There will never be anything between us no matter what you do or try.

“Go on practising your filth for as long as you can. I will take you to court.”

The court was told that on the morning of July 23rd (2019) -- just over an hour after his release from the hospital -- Elbilbaisi phoned an official at at Ms Robison's office and said wanted an appointment to meet Ms Robison in person.

Laura Bruce, prosecuting, said he was told to contact his Glasgow constituency MSP, but “kept repeating that he wanted to meet with Shona”.

Mrs Bruce said he told SNP worker Donald Morrison that “it was something to do with children from Dundee and said Shona would know what it was about.”

He also told Mr Morrison -- who already knew that Ms Robinson had a stalker -- that he was going to move to Dundee.

He followed up with another call the next day.

Mrs Bruce, the depute fiscal, said that in a statement submitted as part of agreed evidence in the case, Ms Robison “quite eloquently describes her fear and alarm” on discovering that her office had received the calls.

Elbilbaisi, from Firhill, Glasgow, had denied a charge of stalking.

He claimed he only wanted to apologise to Ms Robison for his earlier behaviour, and claimed he “had no idea it would have been terrifying” for Ms Robision to find he was trying to contact her again.

After brief summary trial, Sheriff Drummond rejected Elbilbaisi's explanation, saying she had come to the conclusion “without any hesitation” that Elbilbaisi ought to have known his actions would cause fear and alarm.

She added: “What worries me is that he intended to arrange a meeting with her.”

Elbilbaisi, a father-of-one, has previously been a director of a number of companies based in Glasgow, including Kelvinside Mini Market Ltd., a firm called BuyBox Direct Ltd., and a company called Full Bhoona Limited, which is recorded as dissolved in October 2011.

His nationality is described as “Palestinian” on public documents relating to his business interests.

His further remand comes as fears for the safety of politicians in general boiled over as tensions in the Westminster parliament over Brexit reached fever pitch.