Christian preacher wins second £10K payout from Met Police after she was wrongfully arrested when she was surrounded by mob chanting 'Allahu Akbar' at Speakers Corner
Scotland Yard has paid a Christian preacher £10,000 in damages for a second time after she was arrested while preparing to talk about the Koran at Speakers Corner.
Scotland Yard has paid a Christian preacher £10,000 in damages for a second time after she was arrested while preparing to talk about the Koran at Speakers Corner.
Hatun Tash was pulled away from the famous spot in London by Metropolitan Police officers while being jeered and shouted at by a mob chanting Allahu Akbar.
The evangelist was then kept in a cell overnight - despite her own supporters having called the police after her Koran was stolen during the incident on June 26, 2022.
Now, the Met has given her £10,000 in damages and costs, nearly two years after it paid her the same amount for two other arrests at the same spot in Hyde Park.
The 42-year-old Christian is a former Muslim from Turkey who is now a prominent critic of Islam and believes Muslims should be encouraged to convert to Christianity.
But Miss Tash, who is a director of Defend Christ Critique Islam (DCCI), claimed she had been dealing with two-tiered policing for years and that a Muslim mob who gather at the area known as the home of free speech seemed to be above the law.
Hatun Tash is seen setting up her camera at Speakers Corner in London on June 26, 2022
Police officers arrive and try to draw Miss Tash away from the growing crowd in Hyde Park
The incident began on a Sunday afternoon when Miss Tash – a regular at Speakers Corner - was setting up her camera in a crowded area preparing to preach.
I have been dealing with two-tiered policing for years: Full statement from Hatun Tash after Met payout
I have been dealing with two-tiered policing for years. Muslim mobs at Speakers Corner are above the law and have been allowed by the police to do what they like to silence debate, increasingly by any means.
I have been treated appallingly by the police and have been repeatedly humiliated when I had not done anything wrong.
The police, as usual, just did exactly what the Muslim mob wanted them to do. They even sided with the men who had stolen my property and to this day have taken no action.
The police have repeatedly taken away my rights and told me that they cannot protect me because they do not want to offend a certain group of people.
Edward Littles planned attack shows everything. The inaction of the police is encouraging the Edward Littles of this world to believe they can act with impunity.
More must be done to properly deal with Islamic violence and intimidation at Speakers Corner. We dont live in Pakistan; we dont live in Saudi Arabia.
I am Christian and by default I believe that Muhammad is a false prophet. I should be allowed to say that in the UK without being stabbed or repeatedly arrested.
I am concerned that power has been handed over to Muslim mobs on Britains streets, and that there is no coming back from this.
The British public urgently need and deserve better policing.
She often speaks out against Islam and had a copy of the Koran with holes, which she sometimes uses as a visual aid to suggest that the Islamic faith has holes in it.
But as she was getting ready, a man crept up on her belongings and took her copy of the Koran before running off through the crowd.
A group of Christian friends with Miss Tash called the police to report the theft – and when officers arrived, they tried to draw her away from the growing crowd.
When she refused to move from where she planned to preach, the officers took hold of Miss Tash and frogmarched her through the crowd to a waiting police van.
Video footage showed the gathered crowd laughing, pursuing and mocking her as she was led away – with her belongings left unattended at Speakers Corner.
Miss Tash was told that she had been arrested for criminal damage and under the Public Order Act 1986 for wearing a Charlie Hebdo T-shirt which depicted the Prophet Mohammed.
Arriving at Charing Cross Police station, she was then strip searched which her lawyers later said breached Article 3 of her human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
This article on Prohibition of torture states that no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Her legal team also claimed officers removed her glasses meaning she could not see, and she was then deprived of sleep before being interrogated at 4am.
Released at 9am, after 15 hours in custody, Miss Tash was told that there would be no further action – and she was not given any help to retrieve her belongings from Speakers Corner.
She also claimed that her rights had been breached under ECHR article nine for freedom of thought, conscience and religion and article ten for freedom of expression.
Launching legal action with the help of the Christian Legal Centre, her lawyers pointed out that even if arrest and detention is deemed lawful initially it may subsequently become unlawful and that the burden is on the police to show that the detention was lawful minute by minute.
They also cited a legal precedent which showed there is protection afforded to people who try to persuade others to change their religion.
Lawyers concluded that the police did not reasonably believe that (Miss Tash) was involved in the commission of a criminal offence, adding that officers believed that the easiest solution to the problem was get rid of our client.
Officers take hold of Miss Tash after she refuses to move from where she planned to preach
The gathered crowd laughs at Miss Tash and mocks her as she is led away from the park
Police then agreed to settle the case and compensate Miss Tash, who has given the money to an organisation supporting individuals who decide to leave the Islamic faith and face persecution for doing so.
Miss Tash said: I have been dealing with two-tiered policing for years. Muslim mobs at Speakers Corner are above the law and have been allowed by the police to do what they like to silence debate, increasingly by any means.
I have been treated appallingly by the police and have been repeatedly humiliated when I had not done anything wrong.
The police, as usual, just did exactly what the Muslim mob wanted them to do. They even sided with the men who had stolen my property and to this day have taken no action.
The police have repeatedly taken away my rights and told me that they cannot protect me because they do not want to offend a certain group of people.
The payout is the latest in a line of incidents involving the Met arresting Miss Tash.
The force paid out £10,000 in compensation to her in October 2022 after arresting her on two other occasions.
Miss Tashs belongings are left unattended at Speakers Corner as police drag her away
Miss Tash is led away by police and is told that she is being arrested for criminal damage
And in July 2021, counter-terrorism police launched an investigation after a knifeman stabbed her at Speakers Corner – but the attacker has still not been caught three years later.
Last December, homegrown terrorist Edward Little who plotted to launch a gun attack at Hyde Park was jailed for at least 16 years – before this was increased to 24 years in January.
The court heard he had planned to kill Miss Tash at Speakers Corner as well as anyone with her and any police officers or soldiers in the area.
And Miss Tash, who has 700,000 subscribers on YouTube, said today: Edward Littles planned attack shows everything. The inaction of the police is encouraging the Edward Littles of this world to believe they can act with impunity.
More must be done to properly deal with Islamic violence and intimidation at Speakers Corner. We dont live in Pakistan, we dont live in Saudi Arabia.
I am Christian and by default I believe that Muhammad is a false prophet. I should be allowed to say that in the UK without being stabbed or repeatedly arrested.
Police take Miss Tash through the crowd at Speakers Corner as she is pursued by a mob
Miss Tash is eventually put in a police van before being taken to Charing Cross police station
I am concerned that power has been handed over to Muslim mobs on Britains streets, and that there is no coming back from this. The British public urgently need and deserve better policing.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: This was another lamentable episode of policing at Speakers Corner.
The video footage of Hatun being marched away is deeply disturbing and demonstrates the totalitarian approach to anyone who stands against Islam in London. If it is not safe to critique Islamic ideology at Speakers Corner then nowhere is safe.
The police have seen it as easier to remove Hatun rather than deal with people intimidating and threatening her. The police fear of being accused of Islamophobia has meant that Sharia Law is ruling Speakers Corner rather than the law of the UK.
This payout to Hatun is a rare admission by the police that they got it wrong. But this has now happened too often and must lead to an overhaul and review over how police are dealing with these incidents in London.
The Free Speech Union described Miss Tash as an extraordinarily brave woman, adding that everyone at the organisation stands in solidarity with her.
MailOnline has contacted the Met for comment.
