Mézec: Hate crime legislation must be fast-tracked

Friday 12 May 2017

A Jersey Deputy is calling for legislation clamping down on hate crime and racial abuse to be speeded up after receiving threats from a member of a social media group.

Police contacted St Helier Deputy Sam Mézec on Tuesday after becoming concerned for his safety following “credible threats” from a member of the ‘Real Rock – Putting Jersey First’ Facebook group, after the politician highlighted a racist cartoon posted by the man.

Deputy Mezec decided not to press charges, but told Express that the incident had been a wake-up call to fast-track hate crime legislation to protect minority communities and other members of the public.

“I’m concerned about this group because I think that the rhetoric that comes out of this page is reaching a point where the only natural conclusion is violence… I’m concerned that this group is a hive of racism that will inspire people to be violent on the streets,” he commented.

Pictured: Deputy Sam Mézec says that islanders and the media must not be "complacent" in tackling racist and discriminatory attitudes.

One such incident had already come to the attention of authorities in February, when a 54-year-old man was fined £1,000 for breach of the Telecommunications Law for stating that three visiting former refugees should be shot, but Deputy Mézec expressed fears that the problem – albeit propagated by a “minority of Jersey people” – “is not quietening down."

“Having been threatened myself by racists because I’ve challenged their racist attitude, I think that the authorities should be monitoring this page.

“Our law on inciting racial hatred should be fast-tracked… Inciting racial hatred is currently not a crime, simply because the States just hasn’t got round to it yet. The Home Affairs Minister has confirmed that she wants it to be made a crime, but that’s not for a year down the line. It’s obviously something that is important. It’s not about stifling freedom of speech because it exists as a criminal offence in all sorts of other countries, it’s about protecting people from violence.”

In the interim, he’s calling for both islanders and the media not to be “complacent” and to call out discrimination when they see it.

“Ordinary Jersey people need to stand up to the bigoted attitudes that are represented in this reprehensible fringe group, and that means being prepared to challenge attitudes when we see them, standing with people who are different to us, whether that’s because they’re Muslim and wear a headscarf, whether that’s because they’re gay and want to hold hands with their boyfriend on the street, or whether there’s someone from another country in the shop who wants to speak their native language to a friend of theirs,” the Reform Jersey Chairman added.

Pictured: In his Liberation Day speech, the Bailiff called for islanders to adopt the 'Jersey way', which he said means "...being tolerant, being competent in what we do, and showing integrity and compassion."

Praising Bailiff William Bailhache's Liberation Day solidarity speech on Tuesday this week, which called for islanders to, "...adopt the 'Jersey way'", Deputy Mézec added:

“[The Bailiff] went out of his way to say that Jersey is how it is because of the contribution of people from different societies, different cultures and religions. This group represents the same values that on Tuesday we commemorated being kicked out of the Island 72 years ago.

“You insult the memory of the people who did fight and die all those years ago if you’re not prepared to stand up to the people they were fighting against when they come back all these years later.”