A woman in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for making a Facebook comment suggesting that mosques should not be protected and should be “blown up with the adults in it.”
Julie Sweeney, from Church Lawton, Cheshire, admitted to sending communications that “threaten death or serious harm” on a Facebook group, pleading guilty on Wednesday.
Sarah Badrawy, the prosecuting attorney, informed the court that one of the group’s 5,100 members became “uneasy” about several comments posted following riots that broke out after the stabbing of three girls in Southport on July 29.
Sweeney responded to a Facebook image showing both white and Asian people participating in the cleanup after the Southport violence by writing: “It’s absolutely ridiculous. Don’t protect the mosques. Blow the mosque up with the adults in it.”
John Keane, representing the defense, argued that “this was a single comment on a single day” and described Sweeney as someone who “lives a quiet, sheltered life in Cheshire and has not troubled the courts in her long life.” He also mentioned that Sweeney has been the primary carer for her husband since 2015.
In a statement, the police emphasized their zero-tolerance approach to such behavior, stating, “As this case demonstrates, there is nowhere to hide. If you choose to engage in this behavior… we will find you, and you will be held responsible.”
The prosecution comes after several days of violent unrest in cities and towns across England and Northern Ireland, sparked by online agitators who falsely claimed that the stabbing suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker. This misinformation fueled anger among some who wrongly believe immigration is responsible for most deadly crimes.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former head of the prosecution service, has vowed to deliver swift justice to deter further violence, with police warning that arrests are likely to continue for months. Some of the sentencings have been televised—a rarity in the UK—as authorities aim to make the criminal justice system’s response highly visible.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
