J'Accuse .... Humza Yousaf.

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J'Accuse Humza Yousaf.

 

J'accuse was the title of an open letter penned by Author, Emile Zola in response to the events of the Dreyfus affair. Zola addressed the French President, Felix Faure in January 1898 and accused his government of antisemitism. The letter was published on the front page of the newspaper, L'Aurore and argued the sentencing of French Army Officer, Alfred Dreyfus to lifelong penal servitude for a trumped charge of espionage was deeply flawed, lacked serious evidence and, was vexatious. Zola pointed out the secret court martial that convicted and sentenced Dreyfus did not allow cross examination of evidence and the whole exercise was more an expression of comfortable French hatred for Jews than dealing with German espionage.

 

I watched a Sky TV interview with Scotland's First Minister, Humza Yousaf last evening and he was specifically commenting upon the reaction to the newly created Hate Crime law, 

 

"It is not a huge surprise that when legislation is first introduced, there can sometimes be a flurry of vexatious complaints. We have seen that and I say to people don't make vexatious complaints. You should desist because what you are doing is wasting precious Police resource and time".

 

It is only last month in another TV interview that Humza on being asked as to what he would prefer to be doing as opposed to First Minister, he answered, "Chairman of Celtic football club". On Tuesday, KC Thomas Ross took to a newspaper to predict vexatious complaints to Police Scotland in the wake of Sunday's Ibrox old firm match from a multitude of non attending Sellik fans. Will Humza's fellow Yahoos desist because they will not want to waste precious Police resource and time or, will they replicate Humza's behaviour after Steven Gerrard's Rangers won the Premiership title three years past?

 

It was May 2021, Humza was Justice Minister and Rangers had received the league trophy at Ibrox. Lock down remained in force and the players in their strips hoisted the silverware, ran down the track to the cordoned gates to show their reward to the gathered supporters then, retired to the Blue Room to sing celebratory songs. A video emerged showing the players standing on tables in a hospitality lounge singing Sweet Caroline. The accompanying soundtrack was augmented with sectarian chants and the video went viral on social media.

 

BBC Scotland latched on, they had an agenda and the usual suspects decided they needed the video to be real. The Justice Minister took to Twitter demanding Police action and the players involved be sacked by the club. Humza was strident, he had made up his mind that several Rangers players had indulged in anti-catholic chanting. He needed to believe that RCs such as Goldson, Aribo, Kent and, Defoe had been so conditioned by their existence at Ibrox that they would chant, 'fcuk the Pope'. It took Police Scotland two days of investigation to conclude the video soundtrack had been faked.

 

The Justice Minister had been vexatious reference the players and continued even after Police Scotland had dismissed the fake evidence. Humza refused to apologise, claimed BBC Scotland had hounded him for comment then, switched attack to events in George Square. He compounded his prejudgement on the players before a proper Police inquiry by stating, "BBC Scotland were asking me to comment on the clip but that is not the point. The point is the clear anti-catholic, anti-Irish bigotry on display in George Square. As Justice Secretary I don't make an apology for calling it out and calling it what it is". The Justice Minister was comfortable that Rangers players be tried and found guilty by social media as opposed to a court of law.

 

Humza was in good company in his failure to apologise, fellow Sellik supporter and SNP MSP, James Dornan was bold, "I have nothing to apologise for". 

 

125 years ago, Zola's exile in the UK lasted several months before being cleared of libel. It took five years for Dreyfus to receive full justice. The French state awarded both men the Legion of Honour. Will Humza decide to be the bigger man?