A man has been sentenced to jail for perpetrating a deliberate and heartless bomb hoax by making a call to a synagogue shortly after a tragic terror incident in Manchester. Markel Ible, aged 32, phoned Sinai Synagogue in Roundhay, Leeds, on October 6 from an unidentified number, falsely claiming that a bomb had been planted at the location set to detonate the next day. Prosecutors emphasized that the intent of the message was to instigate panic and fear, and this act occurred just four days following the attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester.
During the assault at the Heaton Park Synagogue on Yom Kippur, Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, lost their lives, while three other individuals sustained injuries when Jihad Al-Shamie, aged 35, carried out the brutal attack. Al-Shamie rammed his car into the gathering, then proceeded to attack others with a knife and attempted to breach the synagogue.
Following the report of the hoax call to the police, Ible, residing in St Martins Gardens, Leeds, was swiftly charged by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) the next day. He admitted guilt on October 8 for making the bomb hoax call and was held in custody. Subsequently, he was sentenced to a 10-month imprisonment by Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday.
Ann Graham, the senior crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, commented on the case, stating, “Markel Ible was fully conscious of the repercussions of his actions, which were aimed at spreading panic and fear.” She added, “The timing of his offense immediately after the tragic incident in Manchester heightens the gravity of his actions. Through close collaboration with the police, we swiftly brought charges against Ible and secured a guilty plea.”
Dave Rich, the policy director at the Jewish charity Community Security Trust (CST), expressed satisfaction with the seriousness with which the Crown Prosecution Service handled the distressing incident. Rich emphasized that Ible’s hoax call was not only thoughtless but also malicious and premeditated, occurring shortly after the tragic terror attack at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. He highlighted that the intent of the hoax call was to spread panic and anguish within a community already feeling vulnerable.
