A man who sent a series of offensive tweets to the sister of a Hillsborough victim has been handed a suspended sentence.
Zakir Hussain, 28, admitted five charges of sending malicious or obscene communications in the form of five separate Twitter messages that tagged Louise Brookes, whose brother Andrew died in the disaster.
The first tweet included a photo of Mr Brookes with superimposed faeces emojis.
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One included threats to deface Mr Brookes’s grave with urine and faeces while another referred to Tottenham Hotspur fans as “Jewish rapists”.
Hussain, of Brownlea Gardens in Ilford, east London, was sentenced to 14 weeks in jail and breathed a sigh of relief when told it would be suspended for one year.
He was handed 200 hours of unpaid work at Stratford Magistrates’ Court and must pay £500 in compensation to Ms Brookes – which amounts to £100 per offensive tweet.
Hussain and a relative got into a scuffle with a photographer as they left the court.
Speaking outside the court, Ms Brooks said Hussain “should have gone to prison”.
“I think the justice system is completely broken,” she said.
“He should be thoroughly ashamed of himself and the law needs to change. I think he got off scot-free quite frankly and I think he is an absolute disgrace.”
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Speaking about the scale of trolling she and other Hillsborough victims have faced, she said: “I dread waking up some days because I don’t know what I’m waking up to.
“Especially when they use photographs of my brother dying. Andrew was one of the most photographed people on the day. I’m literally having to watch my brother die again in that photograph. It’s just difficult.”
Man chuckles after being given four-year football ban over offensive Hillsborough shirt
It comes after a man who wore an offensive shirt about the disaster to the FA Cup final was given a four-year football ban.
James White pleaded guilty to a charge of displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress at Willesden Magistrates’ Court in northwest London on Monday.
The 33-year-old from Warwickshire wore a Manchester United replica top with the number 97 and the words “not enough” on the back to Manchester United’s FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on 3 June.
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White chuckled as he was banned from all regulated football games in the UK for four years.
He was also fined £1,000 and ordered to pay court costs totalling £485.
