By Staff, Agencies A judge in the UK has sentenced a young Muslim man to 20 months in prison for resisting far-right rioters who had been targeting Muslims following false social media claims.

This ruling has ignited debate over the implications for self-defense amid a surge in racially fueled Islamophobic violence in the UK Judge Robert Linford of Plymouth Crown Court sentenced 24-year-old Amer Walid for throwing cans at far-right extremists who had thrown alcohol at him.

Walid, who has no prior convictions, was attacked by these extremists during their confrontation with an anti-racist rally on August 5.

The violence, described as some of the worst far-right anti-immigration riots in decades, erupted in the UK from July 30 to August 5.

Rioters attacked mosques, attempted to set fire to hotels housing migrants, and hurled bricks at police officers.

The unrest was sparked by false social media reports alleging that the suspect in the murder of three young girls in Southport was a Muslim asylum seeker.

The court heard that Walid had visited a mosque before joining the protest at the Civic Centre on Royal Parade, having learned about the demonstration through social media.

He attended to protect his faith.

Prosecutor Lewis Aldous stated that a can of beer, which landed at Walid’s feet, made him angry due to his Islamic beliefs, leading him to throw it back.

Although Walid initially claimed to have thrown only one item, he later admitted, after police BodyWornVideo footage was reviewed, to throwing several items.

Walid’s advocate, Zoe Kuyken, argued that the fear and distress caused by the fireworks and “deeply offensive racist chants” on the night contributed to his reaction.

Judge Linford acknowledged that Walid had not sought trouble and that the rioters had been throwing missiles and making racist chants.

However, he sentenced Walid to 20 months in prison, stating, “What you should have done was rise above their obnoxious racism.

You were capable of doing that, but instead, you threw four missiles of one sort or another at the group opposite.” The far-right demonstrations, initially organized as anti-immigration marches on social media platforms like X, WhatsApp and Telegram, quickly descended into violence.

Protesters set fire to two Holiday Inn hotels in Rotherham and Tamworth, believed to be housing asylum seekers awaiting decisions on their claims.

South Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield reported that the Rotherham hotel was “full of terrified residents and staff” at the time