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Leeds Man Convicted of Religiously Aggravated Criminal Damage in Hospital Faith-Room Attacks

Prosecutors cite rising hate-crime referrals ahead of a 16 February sentencing.

Overview

  • Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 4 February found Ibhraim Iqbal guilty of two counts of religiously aggravated criminal damage and one count of criminal damage, with sentencing set for 16 February.
  • Iqbal vandalised St James’s Hospital’s multi-faith room on 29 November 2025, smashing framed Islamic scripture and defacing multiple Qurans by ripping and burning pages to block the sink and toilet.
  • He returned on 9 December to stuff items down drains and was detained the next day when he tried to access the locked room before being arrested by West Yorkshire Police.
  • While in custody, he requested crayons and wrote the words “kill Jews” on his police cell wall.
  • The CPS said CCTV and a repeated modus operandi linked the incidents and noted 4,358 police referrals flagged as hate crimes in July–September 2025, a 14.7% quarterly increase.