New Delhi: Controversial British activist Majid Freeman, who has a history of promoting anti-Hindu sentiments on social media, especially during the 2022 Leicester city unrest, was arrested and charged by the Leicestershire Police Tuesday on terror offences and for “supporting a proscribed organisation”.
Freeman, 36, is a public supporter of Shockat Adam, a newly-elected Independent Member of Parliament (MP), who defeated Labour Party heavyweight Jonathan Ashworth, a key member of Keir Starmer’s then shadow cabinet. Ashworth had been the sitting MP of Leicester City South for 13 years.
“Majid Novsarka, also known as Majid Freeman, 36, of Cecil Road, Leicester, has been charged with encouragement of terrorism and supporting a proscribed organisation. He has been released on bail and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 24 July,” said Leicestershire Police in a statement Wednesday.
Freeman is known for multiple anti-Hindu posts on social media — especially during the 2022 unrest between British Hindus and Muslims in the city of Leicester, which began following a cricket match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20 tournament.
He was active in supporting Adam on the social media platform X, and shared a video of a public run-in with Jonathan Ashworth in June during the British general election campaign.
“Bumped into Labour MP @JonAshworth who was canvassing in Leicester. Elderly Muslim uncles who prev supported Jon came out to ask why he abstained from the (Palestinian) ceasefire vote so he resorted to playing victim by saying we were bullying & intimidating him. We have every right to Q you,” said Freeman on X.
Bumped into Labour MP @JonAshworth who was canvassing in Leicester. Elderly Muslim uncles who prev supported Jon came out to ask why he abstained from the 🇵🇸ceasefire vote so he resorted to playing victim by saying we were bullying & intimidating him. We have every right to Q you pic.twitter.com/5q5UDCgTXN
— Majid Freeman (@Majstar7) June 21, 2024
The defeat of Ashworth by about 1,000 votes was a shock to the Labour Party. The party won over 400 seats in the UK general election, returning to power after 14 years, but there are indications that it lost large parts of the Muslim vote due to its stance on Gaza.
In his victory speech, Adam declared “this is for Gaza”. It must be noted, however, that there was no direct evidence of a link between Freeman and Adam, apart from the former’s vociferous support for the candidate on social media.
“This is deeply disturbing & alarming. It’s said this individual is a key campaigner for Leic South’s new MP Shockat Adam Patel. @ShockatAdam must now condemn this individual & condemn those organising demonstrations defending him. The safety of people must always come first,” posted Ashworth on X, after news of Freeman’s arrest broke.
Freeman’s controversial posts
On 28 August, 2022, India defeated Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20 tournament, with two balls to spare, leading to a violent incident in Leicester among fans gathered around the city to watch the tight game.
Freeman was extremely active at the time, sharing a few alleged incidents of violence perpetrated by Hindus, which were later proven false. In one instance, Freeman shared a post from a “concerned father” alleging that three Indian boys tried to grab his 15-year-old Muslim daughter, because of her religion.
The story was false. Nevertheless, Freeman’s post on X about the fake incident spread widely. He later deleted the post after it was proven false, but the damage was done — it was shared hundreds of times across the platform. Freeman also added that he had “confirmed” the incident with the local police, according to the BBC.
The fake incident was further shared across WhatsApp groups, Instagram and other platforms, with posts accusing a Hindu man being behind the “abduction”.
In other posts on X, Freeman referred to mobs on the streets as “Hindutva thugs” or “Hindu mobs”, specifically targeting his community.
Hindu mobs on Belgrave Road throwing glass bottles at the Muslims but narrowly missing police officers heads on numerous occasions. There is NOT a small minority of these Hindutva thugs. Theres hundreds of them. Will the Hindu community leaders continue defending them? #Leicester pic.twitter.com/WzXnY4AWVj
— Majid Freeman (@Majstar7) September 17, 2022
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The unrest in Leicester
In August-September 2022, videos of desecration of Hindu places of worship spread, while multiple pieces of misinformation proliferated across social media, inducing youth from both communities to agitate against each other, according to BBC. Information of the incident spread, leading to tension in the city.
About 43 percent of Leicester is made up of Asians, a majority of which are of Indian heritage, according to the City Council.
Christians make up 25 percent of the population, while Muslims are the second-largest religious group in Leicester, with about 23 percent. About 18 percent are Hindus, while 4 percent are Sikhs.
Tensions between Hindus and Muslims broke out into riots, protest marches, hate speeches and ethnic violence between the two communities on the weekend of 17-19 September, 2022.
Social media played a role in amplifying hatred between the communities, which further fuelled unrest.
However, Freeman was also reported to have protected a Hindu man from a mob, and saved his life on 17 September. Ram Keshwala was in his car, when an individual tried to pull him out and slashed his tires. Freeman is reported to have stepped in, shutting the door and appealing to let him go, according to local media reports.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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