01/09/2022
LGBTQIA activists have long argued that homophobes are usually dangerous individuals capable of acts of tremendous violence. In Derry, Northern Ireland, twenty four year old hetero supremacist Sebastian Prokop has been sentenced to five years in prison for setting fire to Envy, a gay nightclub in the city that has unfortunately failed to survive his arson and has had to close down permanently. Detective inspector Stephanie Finlay from Derry’s Strand Road Criminal Investigation Branch told The Belfast Telegraph: “Prokop’s action were callous and senseless, and caused significant harm. However, we hope the sentence, at least on some level, brings some degree of justice.” Prokop’s criminality did not just affect the nightclub, but also risked the lives of people in adjacent buildings. Some LGBTQIA+ people from Northern Ireland said that his sentence should have been much greater owing to the threat to life as well as livelihood.
