A solicitor who is alleged to have made offensive tweets has admitted that some of his social media posts were antisemitic but his intention was ‘never to post anything antisemitic intentionally’.
Mohammed Sarfraz, admitted in 2008, is alleged to have made inappropriate and/or offensive and/or antisemitic social media posts which were intentionally so between November 2019 and January 2022.
Sarfraz is the director of Bradford firm Cartwright Solicitors. He denied the allegations against him but, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard today, has now accepted some of the disputed posts were antisemitic or offensive. Three tweets are still in dispute.
He told the court during cross examination that he had not understood, at the time of writing the tweets, that they were antisemitic. Asked about one tweet, Sarfraz said it was ‘not specific to anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli maybe’. Referring to another, Sarfraz said his language was ‘quite embarrassing’ adding: ‘I look at that tweet and it is quite childish. I am not proud of that tweet.’
Sarfraz acknowledged he could ‘see how some of these [tweets] will definitely be viewed as antisemitic’ but denied a small number of them were.
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Asked if another tweet was offensive, Sarfraz said: ‘Absolutely it is. You cannot deny that it is offensive, a little childish, a little pointless.’ He explained the tweet was part of a chain and could not really be viewed in isolation.
‘I have not decided to turn my computer on and tweet something antisemitic or offensive. [This tweet] is part of a bigger chain of tweets, these are not being viewed as part of the context they are part of. I am not justifying it, some are clearly offensive, but in context you could see why I was probably a little bit angry.’
Of another tweet, he said: ‘At the time I thought it was just a bit of humour, a bad joke. My intention was not really to cause offence, but I can plainly see now why it could be offensive. I see that. My intention was never to spread any kind of hatred towards Jewish people. It was never my intention to post anything antisemitic intentionally.’
Sarfraz told the three-person panel he had been on a journey of self-reflection adding: ‘You are never too old to learn…I never thought for one second anything I was posting was antisemitic. I never would have posted [if so].’
The substantive hearing continues.
