A magistrate has been formally warned after sharing a social media post connected to Hamas’ attack on Israel. The post, which appeared on Abdul Malik’s Facebook timeline in October 2023, showed “a video from Hamas regarding their attack on southern Israel”.
Mr Malik, of the Avon and Somerset bench, claimed he was tagged in the post but later “discovered he must have shared the post himself”. He has since repeatedly apologised for the incident and emphasised he did not support Hamas.
A spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said Mr Malik, who is also the chair of Easton Jamia Mosque in Bristol, had “failed to exercise due care and diligence”. They added that his actions “had a detrimental effect upon the dignity, standing and good reputation of the magistracy”, which were found to amount to “serious misconduct”.
Mr Malik said in a statement to the media in early 2024 that he had been tagged in the post by someone else, and that it appeared on his account because it was not protected. But this account was challenged and he later informed his superiors that he had “discovered he must have shared the post himself”, with an investigation then launched.
The JCIO spokesperson said: “He 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.
“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. He repeatedly apologised for his behaviour and indicated measures he would take to ensure a similar incident did not occur in future.”
A nominated JCIO committee member found that Mr Malik’s initial denial of responsibility for the post “was publicly discredited and compounded the damage caused by the initial sharing of the post”. They recommended that Mr Malik be issued with a formal warning, noting his “previously unblemished conduct record and good standing within the community”, and that he had been “consistently remorseful” following the incident.
High Court judge Mr Justice Keehan, as well as the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood, agreed with the sanction, the statement added.