Two men have been charged with religiously aggravated harassment over allegations they travelled to north London to film antisemitic TikTok videos.
Officers were called to reports of a hate crime involving a group of men allegedly harassing members of the Jewish community on Clapton Common at about 9pm on Thursday, the Metropolitan police said. Officers arrested five men in Hackney after the incident, it added.
The Crown Prosecution Service said Adam Bedoui, 20, and Abdelkader Amir Bousloub, 21, were to appear at Thames magistrates court on Saturday over allegations they approached, harassed and filmed Jewish people in Stamford Hill, north London.
Bedoui and Bousloub, both of West Drayton, Hillingdon, west London, were charged with religiously aggravated intentional harassment, contrary to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and intentional harassment, contrary to the Public Order Act 1986.
Two other 20-year-old men and a 21-year-old man who were arrested had been released on bail pending further inquiries, police said.
The arrests come days after the Met allocated 100 officers to a new community protection team “focused on protecting Jewish communities across London” after a series of recent attacks in the capital, including the stabbing of two Jewish men last month in Golders Green. The force said that in the past four weeks, it had arrested about 50 people for antisemitic hate crimes and charged eight individuals.
Huw Rogers, the chief crown prosecutor for CPS Direct, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to charge Adam Bedoui, 20, and Abdelkader Amir Bousloub, 21, with religiously aggravated intentional harassment and intentional harassment following an incident where Jewish people in Stamford Hill were being approached, harassed and filmed.
“Our team of out-of-hours prosecutors from CPS Direct worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring charges and it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
He said that as legal proceedings were active and the men had the right to a fair trial, “it is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings”.
Det Supt Oliver Richter, who leads policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “Our investigation continues but two men have been charged and will appear in court for their alleged part in this incident.
“We will not tolerate any form of hate crime against our communities.”
