A Sinn Féin MLA has written to Northern Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions requesting a review of the sentencing of a man who made racist death threats and menaces to destroy a charity office.

Deirdre Hargey, a South Belfast representative and Policing Board member, said the suspended sentence given to William Brown was too lenient and that there must be no tolerance for racism.

Last March, Brown left two expletive-laden voicemails for Takura Makoni, a policy officer at the African and Caribbean Support Organisation Northern Ireland. In the calls, he used racist slurs, asked about Makoni’s origin and faith, and declared the country was a Christian land for Anglo-Saxon and Celtic peoples, not for Muslims. He threatened to shoot Makoni with a bullet to the head, beat him with a hammer, and set fire to the building in south Belfast that houses the charity. Makoni recorded the messages.

Brown, 28, of East Street, Newtownards, was convicted in April of making threats to kill, threatening to damage property, and improper use of a communications network. He received a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for three years. The judge enhanced the sentence on grounds of racial hostility, but Brown was not convicted of a race hate crime because no such standalone offence exists in Northern Ireland.

Makoni said the lack of a specific law undermines deterrence and erodes victims’ trust in the justice system. He noted that the targeted building also accommodates a charity for young children and mothers, meaning an attack could have caused widespread harm.

Victim Support has pointed to official figures showing that enhanced sentences for racial aggravation remain unusual. In 2024/25, out of 79 convictions recorded as racially motivated, only 21 led to a sentence that formally acknowledged the hate element, according to Public Prosecution Service data cited by victim advocates. Michael Avila, a managing consultant with Victim Support, argued that the current system does a disservice to victims because hate motivation is only sometimes considered at sentencing and rarely results in a recorded aggravation.

Legislation intended to address this is moving through the Assembly. The Justice Minister introduced a Sentencing Bill earlier this year that would introduce a statutory aggravator model. Under the proposal, courts would be required to treat offences more seriously when a hate element is proven, to record the aggravation on the conviction, and to explain how it affects the sentence. The model follows a recommendation made six years ago by retired judge Desmond Marrinan.

Hargey’s letter to the PPS director underscores the political pressure for tougher responses. Makoni, while open to a restorative outcome, insists legislative reform is essential amid ongoing racial tensions in Northern Ireland.