Man sentenced for anti-Semitic abuse in Prestwich letting agency
A Bury man has been sentenced today at Manchester Magistrates’ Court following a string of hate crime offences across Greater Manchester.
On 23 March 2024, Irfan Younis, 44, entered a letting agency in Prestwich shortly after 10am and asked a female member of staff questions about the conflict in the Middle East.
When the woman declined to answer his questions and asked him to leave the premises, he verbally abused her using anti-Semitic slurs, before making an offensive hand gesture and riding away on his bike.
The woman reported it to police officers who were in a nearby shop and provided a statement describing how she found the incident deeply hurtful and was left shaken.
Younis was also sentenced in respect of two other offences. On 3 December 2023 he called 999 on three occasions and verbally abused Greater Manchester Police call handers whilst again referring to the conflict in the Middle East.
On 5 December Younis shouted racial abuse at strangers who were going about their business in Bury town centre.
In all his police interviews he sought to downplay his own actions, blaming others for provoking his outbursts but later pleaded guilty at court.
Today the court sentenced him to a total of 20 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, for all three offences, including an uplift for the hate element. During the period of suspension he must complete a 12-month drug treatment order.
Marnat Ali, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Irfan Younis persistently targeted individuals who were going about their daily lives in order to demonstrate hatred.
“By using hateful language, he caused distress to all those he targeted and by making the 999 calls, he effectively took the call handlers away from assisting those who genuinely needed their help.
“During the sentence hearing, we presented a community impact statement by the Community Security Trust, who work closely with the British Jewish community, to show the full extent of the harm caused.
“Everyone has the right to go about their daily lives without fear of hate.”
Notes to editors
- Irfan Younis, date of birth 08/11/1979, was charged with:
- Persistently make use of public communication network to cause annoyance/inconvenience/anxiety 03/12/23
- Racially/Religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress 05/12/23
- Racially/Religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress 23/03/24
- Community Security Trust (CST) is a charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism and related threats.