Trainee pharmacist fined after ‘antisemitic’ social media post

A trainee pharmacist has been fined more than £1,000 after pleading guilty to posting a “grossly offensive” and “hateful antisemitic” message on social media.

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Al Accad “sent a hateful antisemitic social media message"

Trainee pharmacist Mohammad Al Accad, 24, was last week (January 20) sentenced for sending a “grossly offensive message” on social media to an Israel Society at an unnamed London university, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed.

Al Accad sent a “threatening reply” to a statement from the society on October 7 2023 that “[condemned] the events taking place in Israel and Gaza”, it said.

Read more: High Court decision on PSA’s second appeal in antisemitism case

Following a police investigation, Al Accad was “identified from his social media account” and arrested, the CPS added.

“In his police interview, Al Accad admitted sending the message in the heat of the moment as he had been personally affected by recent events,” it said.

“Grossly offensive”

Al Accad initially pleaded not guilty “on the basis the message wasn’t threatening or grossly offensive”, according to the CPS.

But he last week (January 20) pleaded “guilty to sending a grossly offensive communication”, it added.

Read more: Pharmacy student struck off for ‘fabricating’ assessments

Al Accad was sentenced to a £675 fine that “had been uplifted due to the hate aspect of the offence” and he was also asked to pay £85 towards prosecution costs and a £270 victim surcharge, it said.

“No place for hate”

Senior crown prosecutor for CPS North West Jade Coleman said that Al Accad “sent a hateful antisemitic social media message to the Israel Society”.

“Although he admitted the words he had used, he initially disputed they were threatening or grossly offensive” before later changing his plea, she said.

“There is no place for hate in our society and we will continue to work with our criminal justice partners to bring those who commit such offences to justice,” Coleman added.

Read more: GPhC warns professor for asking student to ‘view a film together’

It comes after the High Court dismissed the Professional Standards Authority’s (PSA) second appeal against findings made by the pharmacy regulator regarding “offensive” and “antisemitic” comments made by a pharmacist in March.

Meanwhile, a postgraduate pharmacy student was removed from the register last month after she “falsified” documents during her studies, “invented reasons for absences” and made “widespread clinical features” during her time of employment”.

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