Channel 4 was facing calls last night to postpone a controversial drama about Islamic State after the daughter of one of Jihadi John’s victims said it should be delayed in the wake of the Barcelona atrocity.
Bethany Haines, 20, whose father David was murdered by the IS executioner, said TV executives should postpone the screening of The State for at least a fortnight. The first episode is due to be broadcast tonight with the following three episodes on subsequent evenings.
Writing exclusively for The Mail on Sunday, Miss Haines says the decision should be made ‘out of respect and humanity for the families suffering in the wake of the Barcelona atrocity’.
Channel 4 was facing calls last night to postpone a controversial drama about Islamic State
She writes: ‘The violence in the drama would be upsetting to anyone. But I think it would be particularly horrifying for those affected by the events of the last few days. So, I would like to say to Channel 4’s executives: Put yourselves in that situation.’
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative MP for North East Somerset, urged the station’s bosses to ‘listen sympathetically’ to Miss Haines’s request. He said: ‘Without having seen the programme, I don’t want to say whether they are right or wrong in broadcasting it now, but they should be sympathetic.’
The State, by acclaimed director Peter Kosminsky, who was behind the award-winning Tudor drama Wolf Hall, has already been critically acclaimed.
Shot in southern Spain, it is said to be one of the most violent dramas ever broadcast in the UK and tells the story of four Britons – two men and two women – who travel to Syria to join IS in 2015, but become disillusioned with the terror group.
The main female character – called Shakira and played by actress Ony Uhiara – finds it impossible to work as a doctor inside the so-called caliphate, and tries to escape with her nine-year-old son.
A male character, Jalal (actor Sam Otto), grows disenchanted with the group’s barbaric violence against ordinary people, as well as its practice of sexual slavery.
He makes the stark discovery that his older brother, whom he believed became a ‘martyr’ fighting for the caliphate, was beheaded by IS for trying to leave.
The drama is unrelenting in its depiction of the brutality of life under IS, showing severed heads on metal spikes, beheadings and even youngsters playing football with a severed head.
Bethany Haines, 20, whose father David was murdered by the IS executioner, said TV executives should postpone the screening of The State
Viewers will also see dismembered bodies of babies scattered in a hospital in the Syrian city of Raqqa after a bombing. One character, an IS executioner, appears to be based on Jihadi John, the 27-year-old Londoner whose real name was Mohammed Emwazi and who was killed in a US drone strike.
Director Kosminsky said he wanted to make a ‘cautionary tale’ about IS and not glamorise the terror group. He said: ‘As far as I know, there’s been no other depiction, certainly in drama, of what happens to young British Muslims when they arrive in Islamic State. That is something worth depicting.
‘This is supposed to be a cautionary tale. The main characters, their attitudes change, and I didn’t think it would act as any kind of cautionary tale if you couldn’t associate with the characters.’
Ex-RAF engineer David Haines was abducted in Syria in March 2013. In September 2014, aged 44, he appeared in a sickening IS murder video, kneeling in a Syrian desert in an orange jumpsuit, before being beheaded by Jihadi John. His family knew he had been kidnapped but kept quiet in order not to derail any rescue attempts.
Labour MP Keith Vaz, the former Homes Affairs Committee chairman, agreed the drama should be delayed for a week or a fortnight.
The MP for Leicester East said: ‘This is not the time to broadcast. We should take care not to give the oxygen of publicity to terrorists who use it to advance their sickening cause.’
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said: ‘We are not asking for censorship, just a delay as a mark of respect.’
And Nadhim Zahawi, Tory MP for Stratford-on-Avon, added: ‘If Bethany Haines, whose father was clearly a victim of Daesh [IS], feels that way, I am sure other victims would feel the same. We should respect the views of victims.’
Last night, a spokesman for Channel 4 said: ‘We are planning to broadcast The State tonight in its scheduled slot. The drama is a fictional account of the brutalities of IS in Syria and does not recreate any terror incidents in Europe.
‘Peter Kosminsky’s drama is based on extensive factual research and offers an unflinching insight into the horrific actions of IS which we believe is an important subject to confront and explore.’
This C4 drama will horrify grieving families
By Bethany Haines
After watching all four episodes of The State, I believe Channel 4 should postpone its screening for at least a couple of weeks.
They should do so out of respect and humanity for the families suffering in the wake of the Barcelona atrocity.
To be honest, the violence in the drama would be upsetting to anyone. But I think it would be particularly horrifying for those affected by the events of the last few days.
After watching all four episodes of The State, I believe Channel 4 should postpone its screening for at least a couple of weeks
So, I would like to say to Channel 4’s executives: Put yourselves in that situation. Imagine being bereaved, or having had loved ones wounded in these horrific attacks.
The last thing those families need is a drama about Islamic State on TV at the same time their lives have effectively been torn apart by that same group.
I was 16 when my father, David Haines, was kidnapped by Islamic State. Now I’m 20, but whenever there’s a fresh attack, it brings back the horrors.
And after events in Barcelona, a whole country is in mourning, with innocent people from all over the world affected.
Broadcasting a drama like this, no matter how well-made and intentioned it is, so soon after an attack like Barcelona is going to cause upset.
In one scene boys play with the severed head of a victim
After everything my family has been through, I am used to the kinds of images in the film. Nevertheless, the footage contains a lot of triggers. It is always hard seeing the black flag, or the word ISIS.
Even the jumpsuits – it still brings it all back. Seeing someone resembling Jihadi John makes me think: ‘Oh my God, that’s him.’
My way of coping with what happened to my dad was to find out everything about IS and what they do – I needed answers.
To that end, this drama is important because it reminds us how violent IS are in the most horrific way – and why they must be stopped.
However, I will never forget seeing the image of my father kneeling on the ground in that orange jumpsuit before he was murdered and those memories are easily triggered four years later.
So, if I were related to someone caught up in the latest terrible attacks, I would be angry that Channel 4 was broadcasting this drama so soon afterwards.