A magistrate has been issued with a formal warning for misconduct after he shared a post containing a video from Hamas regarding the 7 October attack on southern Israel.
In October 2023, a post from another account appeared on Abdul Malik’s Facebook timeline containing a video from Hamas. The post gained media attention the following year and Malik provided a statement to the press claiming he had been tagged in the post by someone else and it had appeared on his timeline because his account was not protected.
The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said Malik gave the same explanation to his bench chair. When his denial of sharing the post was challenged in the press, Malik informed his bench chair that ‘he had discovered he must have shared the post’.
Malik ‘repeatedly apologised’ and indicated measures he would take to ensure a similar incident did not happen again.
The JCIO added: ‘[Malik] explained that he had shared the post without checking its source or content, and did not endorse it, comment on it or "like" it. He agreed the post was offensive and he emphasised that he does not support Hamas. He said he had been consistently critical of Hamas in his position as chair of a large mosque in Bristol. He removed the post as soon as he became aware of it and said he regretted sharing it and had learned from the incident.
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‘Mr Malik said his initial explanation to the press and his bench chair was given in good faith based on his understanding at the time, which he later realised was not correct. He had not initially notified his bench chair of the matter as he did not fully comprehend the potential implications.’
An investigation found Malik’s actions amounted to ‘serious misconduct’ and he had ‘failed to exercise due care and diligence, both in his sharing of the post and in his initial denial of responsibility, which was publicly discredited and compounded the damage caused by the initial sharing of the post’.
Malik’s actions were found to have had a ‘detrimental effect upon the dignity, standing and good reputation of the magistracy’.
Malik had an unblemished conduct record and a ‘good standing within the community’. His statements were found to be ‘sincere and consistent with his exemplary actions in the local community,’ the JCIO added.
Mr Justice Keehan, on behalf of the lady chief justice and with the lord chancellor’s agreement, issued Malik with a formal warning for misconduct.
