A bonfire in Moygashel, County Tyrone, was ignited with a replica mosque effigy atop it before police could remove the display. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) described the operation to take down the "hate display" as "significant and complex."
According to the PSNI, the policing operation was in its advanced stages when the bonfire was lit. A spokesperson stated that if the bonfire had not been lit, officers would have secured the site and seized the offending material as evidence. The effigy had been placed on the pyre two days prior to the scheduled lighting on Friday.
Chief Superintendent Norman Haslett condemned the act, saying, "Hate crime has no place in our society and will not be tolerated." He added that the lighting of the bonfire occurred a day before the planned removal, preventing police action.
The PSNI confirmed that a 56-year-old man arrested in connection with the effigy has been charged with incitement to hatred. He is scheduled to appear before Dungannon Magistrates Court on Friday. The investigation into this "hate motivated crime" remains ongoing.
The incident drew widespread condemnation. Justice Minister Naomi Long characterized the effigy as a "nauseating spectacle of hatred" and urged those responsible to dismantle it. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn described the act as a "sickening and cowardly act of intimidation."
In response, a spokesperson for the Moygashel Bonfire Association stated that while the display might "shock, offend or outrage," those involved were exercising their right to freedom of expression.