Two Men Jailed For Throwing Bacon Inside A London Mosque

Piotr Czak-Zukowski (left) and Mateusz Pawlikowski

Met police

Two men have been jailed for throwing bacon at worshippers in a north London mosque in a racially motivated attack.

Mateusz Pawlikowski, 22, and Piotr Czak-Zukowski, 28, both Polish nationals living in the area, were each sentenced to 16 months in jail.

They were given eight months for criminal damage and eight months for a racial or religiously motivated public order offence and will serve the sentences concurrently.

Blackfriars crown court heard the pair approached the al-Rahman Mosque in Crowndale Road, Camden, as worshippers prepared for their evening prayers.

Pawlikowski then swore at one mosque-goer and threw a rasher of bacon at him, before throwing more bacon on the floor of the mosque's prayer room, the court heard. The pair then left but after a witness called the police and gave a description, Pawlikowski was spotted by officers a few minutes away.

Czak-Zukowski was then found at nearby Camden Lock, with an empty bacon packet in his pocket.

Both men pleaded guilty at a hearing at Highbury Corner magistrates' court on 4 October and were remanded in custody.

DC Tracey McMath, from the Metropolitan police's Camden community safety unit, said in a press release: "The defendants showed a complete disregard for the faith and belief of others in this callous and highly offensive incident, and I hope their convictions highlight that we will not tolerate hate crime in any of its forms."

Home Office figures confirmed that reports of religious or racist abuse increased by 41% in the month after the EU referendum in June, while London specifically saw a "shocking" rise in the aftermath of the vote, according to mayor Sadiq Khan.