- Shamraize Bashir, 34, made shocking anti-Semitic remarks on an easyJet flight
- The company director was travelling back to Manchester from Tel Aviv last June
- The West Yorkshire man blamed remarks on smoking cannabis during Ramadan
- The Muslim man has to complete a 12 month community and pay £505 in costs
Shamraize Bashir, 34, made shocking anti-Semitic remarks on a flight last June
A Muslim businessman who reduced airline passengers to tears with anti-Semitic insults has walked free from court after he blamed his racist remarks on smoking cannabis during Ramadan.
Company director Shamraize Bashir, 34, was travelling back to the UK from Israel with friends when he launched a foul-mouthed five minute rant.
He was heard to say: 'You know the really fat Jewish women yeah? Their job is to let their husbands f*** them and make babies for them.'
Fellow passengers on the easyJet flight from Tel Aviv urged Bashir to stop swearing,but he responded: 'I'm not f***ing swearing - you can't tell me what to do, even my own mum doesn't tell me what to do.'
One tearful woman was so offended during Bashir's outburst that she swapped seats with another passenger.
The court heard the incident occurred last June 17 when Bashir and seven friends were returning to the UK on the 9.30pm flight from the Israeli city.
Bashir, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was arrested when the plane touched down in Manchester and was ordered to do community service when he appeared before a court this week.
He admitted to using racially aggravated threatening behaviour but he denied being racist, claiming his use of cannabis during the Islamic fasting season had affected his behaviour.
He told the court: 'It was out of character, I do believe that this is down to smoking cannabis and that a course would help with that.'
Prosecutor Tim McArdle said: 'As often happens with big groups they were sat across a number of rows spread over the aircraft.
'Witnesses describe the defendant sitting at the front of the aircraft and moving around during the flight to speak with friends but the offence occurred at the back of the aircraft.
'Two women describe two Asian males on row 26, [and the] defendant clarifies he was one of them. The witnesses had a clear and unobstructed view.
'They describe the males swearing a lot, they were not being too aggressive but were rude and using offensive language.
'One of the witnesses asked the males ''could you perhaps not swear quite so loudly, it is not nice for those around you''. The defendant replies ''I'm not f***ing swearing, you can't tell me what to do, even my own mum doesn't tell me what to do.''
'The males continued to swear in front of staff members, too. The defendant went on to say ''you know the really fat Jewish women yeah, their job is to let their husbands f*** them and make babies for them.''
'According to witnesses the conversation about the Jewish religion lasted for around two to five minutes. There were lots of Jewish passengers on board.
'One young female sat close to the witnesses looked visibly upset by what he was saying and she began crying. She was in his personal space for some time.
'One of the witnesses swapped places with that young lady and they describe the incident as offensive and said he was making passengers around him feel uncomfortable. The incident has left people upset, shocked and affected by what was said.'
Cabin crew alerted police and officers were waiting for Bashir when the plane landed.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Mr Upkar Bahia said: 'The defendant had been to Israel with friends for a few days. When they got on the plane back to Manchester they were all quite boisterous and quite loud.
'He was sat at the front of the plane and the rest of his friends were scattered around the plane. He quite clearly accepts that some of the language he used was unacceptable given the environment.
'A few rows behind him, he swapped seats with one of his friends and engaged in conversation with a Jewish lady. She was speaking about her religion and explaining the difference between orthodox and unorthodox Jews.
'The conversation was friendly banter and he engaged with her for at least an hour. The defendant went to the rear of the plane and his language was colourful.
'He says that one of the female witnesses caused his embarrassment when asking him to be quiet. He continued talking to his friend and spoke about some of the conversation he had with the Jewish lady.
Bashir, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was arrested when the plane touched down in Manchester
'He quite clearly used inappropriate language when relaying the conversation to friends. The defendant was talking directly to friends and not to anyone else, but there must have been the intent there because he was speaking loudly.
'But he had been to Tel Aviv and soaked up the culture and had also sat and spoke to a Jewish lady for an hour - how could he be a racist?
'No one on the flight was put in any danger and there were no arguments as such, there was no escalation and nothing further happened.
'The offence happened over a very short period of time, just a few minutes. It was clearly upsetting for passengers but had no long lasting impact.
'The defendant owns a frozen dessert shop in Bradford which he opened only last week. He offers his unreserved apologies in this court and to those who were quite clearly upset by his comments.'
A probation report read to the court said: 'He couldn't really explain his behaviour - he does somewhat minimise his account and the effect it might have had on the passengers.
'He suggests cannabis use prior to the flight and particularly during Ramadan might have affected his behaviour. But there is a low risk of serious harm and a low risk of reoffending.'
Bashir was ordered to complete a 12 month community order, plus 100 hours unpaid work and attend a course to address his cannabis use. He was also ordered to pay £505 in costs.
Passing sentence, Kevin Phillips said: 'This is obviously a serious matter and you have accepted that, but you behaved in a way that was wholly inappropriate on a plane and in a confined space where people cannot get away.
'Such behaviour anywhere is inappropriate, such behaviour on a plane is particularly inappropriate. You may wish to play this down but we think this is a very serious matter.'
After the case easyJet said: 'Whilst such incidents are rare easyJet does not tolerate any form of abusive or threatening behaviour on board and always pushes for prosecution. We have a duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of our passengers and crew.'
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