Overview
- Tony Greenstein, 72, is standing trial at Kingston Crown Court on a charge of inviting support for Hamas over three social media posts and a linked blog entry.
- The posts included a call for "full support for the Gaza ghetto uprising" and a blog line praising an attack as "well planned and audacious," which prosecutors say signalled support for Hamas given the immediate context.
- Greenstein told jurors he believed the attacks were "justified" but denied he supports Hamas as an organisation and said he would not invite others to back the group.
- Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC has repeatedly curtailed Greenstein's political commentary in court to keep the trial focused on the legal question of whether the statements amounted to criminal encouragement.
- If convicted, Greenstein would be found to have broken UK law that makes public encouragement of a proscribed terrorist organisation an offence and the case highlights how context and timing shape the line between political speech and criminal liability.