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Ofcom has imposed a fine of £2,000 on the Licensee of community radio station Link FM 96.7, after we found a programme broadcast on the station broke our broadcasting rules.

On two occasions in December 2020, Link FM 96.7 broadcast a Nasheed – a piece of devotional vocal music – entitled ‘Jundallah’, meaning ‘Soldiers of Allah’.

Our investigation found that this Nasheed, which was in Arabic, contained lyrics and imagery that amounted to an indirect call to action to encourage people to join a form of violent Jihad. It was therefore likely to encourage or incite violence or lead to disorder. The content also had clear potential to cause significant offence and we did not consider there to be sufficient context to justify its broadcast.

Given the seriousness of these breaches, we have imposed a fine of £2,000, payable to HM Treasury. Link FM 96.7 must also broadcast a summary of our decision on a date and in a form to be determined by Ofcom.

Community radio stations typically broadcast over a small geographic area, catering for specialist audiences and are run on a not-for-profit basis.

More details on our sanction decision are available.