UK police end Bob Vylan investigation over Israel remarks
On Tuesday, British police announced they would not take any further action regarding comments made about the Israeli military during a performance by punk duo Bob Vylan at the Glastonbury music festival in June.
"We have concluded, after reviewing all the evidence, that it does not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) for any person to be prosecuted," Avon and Somerset Police said, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The performance by Bob Vylan included on-stage chants by lead singer Bobby Vylan of "death, death to the IDF", a reference to the Israeli military, which was involved in fighting Israel's war on Gaza.
The war has killed over 70,000 Palestinians and destroyed most of the coastal enclave, and has been labelled a genocide by genocide scholars and rights organisations, and is being reviewed in a genocide case brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice.
There was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, the police said.
The force said it interviewed a man in his mid-30s and contacted about 200 members of the public during the investigation.
The on-stage comments drew widespread criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Israeli Embassy in London. The BBC, Britain's publicly owned broadcaster, also faced backlash for not halting a livestream of the performance.
In its statement on Tuesday, Avon and Somerset Police said it considered the intent behind the words, the wider context, case law and freedom of speech issues before concluding the investigation.
"We believe it is right this matter was comprehensively investigated, every potential criminal offence was thoroughly considered, and we sought all the advice we could to ensure we made an informed decision," it said.
"The comments made on Saturday 28 June drew widespread anger, proving that words have real-world consequences," the statement said, adding the force had engaged with Jewish community groups throughout the process.
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