Jury Fails to Convict Pro-Palestine Activist Over Social Media Posts

A Pro-Palestine activist accused of supporting Hamas over social media posts has not been sentenced after a jury was unable to reach a verdict on his case. 

Majid Freeman, a long-time community organiser and charity worker who risked his life delivering aid in Syria and Palestine, was arrested in July 2024 for posts on X and Instagram. 

The prominent British-Muslim activist had been accused of deliberately encouraging terrorism and inviting and expressing support for a proscribed terrorist organisation.

After deliberating for more than 13 hours, the jury said it could not reach a majority decision on any of the charges. 

“The state exhausted considerable resources trying to prosecute me based on emoji, duas and posts online,” Freeman said in a statement, shared online. 

“And after almost a week of deliberation, the jury could not agree that I was guilty.”

Supporters mobilised outside Birmingham Crown Court throughout the  three-week trial, which concluded on May 11.

During the trial, Freeman denied all charges. He said that he did not support Hamas but that “everyone has the right to defend themselves,” including with the use of force. He added that in the wake of 7 October and Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, he had used his social media activity to call for a ceasefire. 

Former Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe was among those who testified on behalf of the defence,  describing Freeman as “a trusted mediator, anti-knife crime campaigner, and community organiser”.

The judge has now discharged the jury who were unable to make a decision, and Freeman will be retried in September 2027. 

“I welcome the opportunity of a retrial, because it means the evidence of what Israel has done to Gaza, the brutality, the systematic destruction of an entire people, will once again be placed before a jury of the British public,” said Freeman. “Let them see it again. Let the world be reminded again.”

Anas Mustapha, Head of Public Advocacy at Cage, said: “The state threw everything it had at Majid Freeman and a jury of his peers still could not agree he was guilty. That is a profound indication of where the British public stands on the criminalisation of solidarity with Palestine.”

Sophia Sheera is a journalist in Novara Media’s social media team.