Video shows Iran protest in London, not 'Hindu mob attacking Birmingham temple vandal'
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 14, 2022 at 06:46
- Updated on October 14, 2022 at 08:29
- 4 min read
- By Anuradha PRASAD, AFP India
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The video has been viewed more than 2,800 times since it was posted on Twitter here on October 11, 2022.
Its Hindi-language caption reads: "Mohammed Rizwan, the man who attacked a Hindu temple in England’s Birmingham, was being taken to the court from the police station. The Hindus somehow got the information...what happened next can be seen below.
"Hindus are waking up, no matter which country they are in."
The two-minute 18-second video shows police escorting a man away from a crowd of people who are kicking and throwing objects at him.
The situation appears to escalate as the crowd surrounds a police van and pelts it with bottles before the vehicle speeds off.
The video circulated online as tensions were reignited in the UK between groups of Hindus and Muslims.
In the city of Leicester in central England, there were reports of "violent assaults, religious symbols being attacked and antisocial behaviour directed at both mosques and temples", according to the Guardian newspaper.
Protests were also reported in Smethwick, about four miles west of Birmingham city centre, according to the BBC.
The same video was viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook here and here and on Twitter here. A 45-second clip from the longer video was also shared on Twitter here with the same claim.
But the claim is false.
Iranian Embassy protests
A keyword search on Google found a related news report published on September 28 by Australian news outlet news.com.au about a demonstration in London against the Iranian regime following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Amini, whose death has sparked protests all over the world, died three days after her arrest by Iran's morality police in mid-September.
According to the news.com.au report, the video shows a protest near Kilburn in northwest London, just north of the Iranian Embassy.
The report includes several screenshots from the video in the false posts and embedded a tweet with the full footage.
Below is a comparison of screenshots from the video shared on social media (left) and images used in the news.com.au report (right):
The video corresponds with this location on Maida Vale, as shown on Google Street View below:
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in the false social media post (left) and the same street on Google Street View (right):
AFP has highlighted a matching road sign, the Vista Pharmacy, and the Marriott Hotel Maida Vale.
London’s Metropolitan Police said disorder initially broke out near the Iranian Embassy before moving to Marble Arch and then to Maida Vale, where the Islamic Centre of England was targeted.
The police said they were able to protect the building, but officers were then targeted.
The clashes were also reported by the BBC and LBC.
An AFP report quoted London's Metropolitan Police as saying "masonry, bottles and other projectiles were thrown and a number of officers were injured. At least five are in hospital with injuries including broken bones."
Police had earlier said a large number of protesters had gathered outside the Iranian Embassy "with a substantial group intent on causing disorder."
A police spokesperson told AFP on October 11: "Two men have been arrested, one of whom has been charged, following disorder near the Iranian Embassy on Sunday, 25 September."
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