The news sparked fury from the Campaign Against Antisemitism, who said it was 'beyond belief' that prosecutors had decided to drop the case.
A spokesman said: 'This incident was caught on video that went viral, with plenty of witnesses on the plane, including Ryanair cabin crew.
'It is beyond belief that sufficient evidence cannot be amassed to establish jurisdiction and that potential culprits are free to go without sanction.
'This is the third time in almost as many months that the CPS has dropped or reduced charges against suspects in high-profile anti-Semitic hate crime incidents, and members of the Jewish community are writing to us in indignation.'
Well, quite! How do the CPS wriggle out of this one?
A spokesman said: 'Following a careful review of all the available evidence, we concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove that the alleged offences took place in British airspace and therefore within remit of our courts.'
It's not like planes are tracked to within an inch by radar is it? 'Air Crash Investigation'? No, never heard of the show....
'The CPS takes racism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism in sport extremely seriously because of the devastating impact it has on victims and wider society.
'Where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest, we will prosecute these cases. We are working with sporting bodies and the police to advise them on the evidence required to build strong cases so that offenders can be brought to justice.'
You want them to do your job for you? Well, why not? They couldn't do much worse...
CPS don't seem to know what the laws about international flights are. When a plane is on the ground, the law of that country applies. When in the air, the law of the country that the plane is registered in takes affect. When overflying a country, some laws from that country can take affect but they are usually limited to the way the airplane can fly. Sometimes something committed on aircraft is handled at the destination country, especially when it requires police handling it, but that doesn't stop the country of registration from having a say with handling the person when they return.
ReplyDeleteWhat SBML said. The flight was from Stansted (British territory and airspace) to Eindhoven (Dutch territory and airspace). There would have been enough reasonable cause for the Dutch authorities to be notified and these 2 bigots be arrested on landing. The Dutch take anti semitism very seriously and a couple of days in a Dutch nick and court appearance would have concentrated their tiny little minds somewhat.
ReplyDeleteAt least, now that they have been identified as anti semitic, one can hope that no airline will accept any bookings from them or any group they are part of. West Ham could also play their part in banning them from attending a West Ham game.
Pondlife, both of them.
Penseivat
With this being a high profile case involving a protected group, the CPS would have been salivating at the prospect of a conviction. That they didn't prosecute means that they weren't going to win. The airlines should issue a lifetime flying ban that would be a greater punishment than a British Court would have given anyway.
ReplyDeleteI seem to recollect in the past where we have prosecuted people for actions they have taken in other countries that are not actually illegal there but are here.
ReplyDeleteAs usual they pick and choose the easy targets. Typical.
"CPS don't seem to know what the laws about international flights are. "
ReplyDeleteOr...any laws!
"At least, now that they have been identified as anti semitic, one can hope that no airline will accept any bookings from them..."
It's a nice thought. I fear that's all it is.
"With this being a high profile case involving a protected group, the CPS would have been salivating at the prospect of a conviction. "
You'd think, wouldn't you?