Police have been called on to investigate a flood of Islamophobic and racist social media posts directed at Scottish NP minister Humza Yousaf following the Paris attacks.
Mr Yousaf is understood to have been inundated with “dozens” of posts on Facebook and Twitter accusing him of supporting ISIS who claimed Friday’s attacks.
The Scottish Government said the minister for Europe and International Development had since reported a number these to Police Scotland.
One colleague said that while often the target of racism due to his public profile, Mr Yousaf had been taken aback by the “nastiness and frequency” of the abuse.
Various posts accused the Glasgow MSP of supporting ISIS, called for him to be deported to Syria and even for his mutilation.
It follows a weekend statement by Police Scotland deputy chief constable Iain Livingstone on the spike in religiously-motivated hate crimes following the Paris attacks.
In one Twitter post, an account under the name Stuart Ben Smith, mocked Mr Yousaf’s name, adding: “I am sure he is 90 per cent backing muslim killers. Be having a whip round for terrorist families soon.”
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A Facebook post under the name Douglas McTaggart said: “Yet to see condemn the Muslim killers of Paris. Why because you support them. Wake up snp you have a snake in the nest.”
Also on Facebook, Jaceius Orelius posted that in the event of a terrorist attack in the UK Mr Yousaf would be castrated and “the blame will be on him and the SNP”.
On Twitter, a poster using the name Robert McGlone, said: “Wish they would send Humza Yousaf to Syria.
One colleague said: “Humza’s one of the highest profile Scots-Asians so gets a fair share of this type of thing.
“But there’s something about the nature of the stuff since Friday, the nastiness and frequency of it, that the police had to be brouight into it.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “This Government is clear that any form of hate crime is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in 21st century Scotland.
“Mr Yousaf has informed the police of recent social media activity and urges anyone else to do the same.
“We value the cohesion of our communities and welcome Scotland’s diversity. Scotland is becoming a more inclusive country and this is very much to be welcomed. We want everyone in our communities to live safely and without fear, to live with dignity and respect.”
