Waterloo racial abuse victim says he was left ‘frightened and intimidated’

A victim of two men who racially abused pro-Palestine protesters at Waterloo station on Armistice Day has said he hopes the case makes more people report hate crimes. 

Ferhan Khan spoke after Ian Beim, 57, and Kevin Sweeney, 61, both pleaded guilty at court to racially aggravated public order offences against members of the public on November 11. 

Ferhan, 39, was called a ‘terrorist c***’ by the men who he took high quality mobile footage of as he returned home from the major pro-Palestine rally in central London.  

He told Metro.co.uk that he believes their actions were Islamophobic and while he is satisfied with the convictions he is reserving his overall thoughts until after the sentencing.  

Ferhan said: ‘Obviously I’m glad that the action to arrest these men has led to a court appearance and their guilty pleas to a racially aggravated offence.

‘What I would really like to see is an intersection to being Muslim, because racism can affect different people in different ways. 

‘While they have pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated offence, their specific actions were Islamophobic. 

‘I also hope that my attendance at a pro-Palestine march will not have any bearing on the sentencing, because I and the people around me were entirely peaceful and simply being attacked for the way I looked should be considered on its own merits. 

‘It was frightening, intimidating, upsetting and very demoralising.’ 

A verbal altercation broke out between Beim, Sweeney and a group of protesters shortly after a pro-Palestine sit-in at the station had been dispersed at around 5.30pm, Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told on Monday. Beim, of Surbiton, south-west London, and Sweeney, of West Molesey, Surrey, were heard shouting abuse and filmed on phones belonging to several of the demonstrators.

Sweeney approached one man who was filming and said ‘yeah, you terrorist c***’, to which Beim added, ‘yeah, go on, keep going’, the court was told.  

Ferhan, from Walthamstow, north London, told Metro.co.uk at the time how he considered himself a bystander with no visible Palestinian connection other than his ‘brown skin’ and a keffiyeh scarf. 

Both men then walked towards another small group of protesters, where Beim stumbled into an activist who was recording after he was pushed by Sweeney, the court was told. They then boarded a train where they continued to use abusive language towards members of the public, including calling them ‘terrorists’ and ‘bombers’. 

Ferhan, who identifies as a Queer Muslim, had begun filming as a group of around four men, including the defendants, behaved aggressively towards people showing Palestinian connections at the station.  

The transport planner’s camera footage shows Sweeney calling him a terrorist and Beim barging into him while also being verbally abusive.   

Ferhan said: ‘The fact I was able to record such high-quality footage made it difficult for the perpetrators to slip off the hook.  

‘They believed they could act with impunity because the system would be too flawed to track them down, but the advent of new technology and the confidence of people like myself means citizens of this country such as myself can record and challenge this kind of behaviour. 

‘But there must be many people who don’t have the same level of evidence to see justice when they are victims of racist attacks. While I’m satisfied with the convictions, I reserve my feelings until after the sentencing.

‘Success in this case would be people feeling more confident in the police and the legal system to come forward and report racist incidents.’ 

Representing Sweeney, Tobias Smith said the charges were ‘not the most substantial disturbance we have seen’ towards pro-Palestine protesters and constituted ‘a bit of shouting’. 

Mr Smith said his client had lost his job as a result of the case. 

Representing Beim, Tony Jacobs described his client’s behaviour as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘atrocious’, but told the court: ‘We do not believe people who go on marches shouting “from the river to the sea” are that timid.’ 

Both Mr Smith and Mr Jacobs asked the court to consider a financial penalty as punishment for the offences. 

Chairwoman of the bench Emily Fergus said the court would order probation reports and granted Beim and Sweeney unconditional bail. 

The pair will return to the court on January 15 for sentencing.

Do you have a story you wish to share? Please contact  josh.layton@metro.co.uk

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