A British man who stuffed ham into the shoes of Muslim worshippers at a mosque has escaped a jail term
A British man who stuffed ham into the shoes of Muslim worshippers at a mosque has escaped a jail term
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Jamie Knowlson, 30, also draped slices of ham, which Muslims are banned from eating, on railings outside the mosque as his victims prayed inside.
He pleaded guilty to causing racially or religiously aggravated harassment and could have been jailed for up to two years.
But he walked free from Bristol Crown Court with a suspended six-month prison sentence because he had returned to the mosque to apologize for his actions, the Daily Mail reports.
Knowlson targeted the Al-Baseera mosque in the St Judes area of the city, which is used by more than 2,000 Somali Muslims every week.
His actions were caught on CCTV camera. Knowlson initially told police the stunt was a drunken joke but later admitted that he was fully aware of the offence his actions would cause.
Knowlson was handed a six-month suspended sentence and 150 hours of unpaid work.
A second man is due to stand trial in connection with the incident later this month.