A BBC Arabic journalist who reposted anti-Israel tweets has won more than £14,000 in a race case.

An employment tribunal heard that Safaa Jibara, a colleague, said Ahmed Rouaba’s speech was of a “Bedouin character” after he allegedly shouted at bosses.

Mr Rouaba was awarded the sum after claiming the comments made by Mr Jibara made him appear “uncivilised” and “savage”.

The Telegraph previously revealed Mr Rouaba reposted a tweet which suggested that Israel had lied to the International Court of Justice in the recent genocide case brought against it by South Africa.

He also reposted a tweet describing elements of Israel’s Gaza blockade as “pure evil”, as well as one suggesting that Israel was “starving” Palestinians “to save money bombing them”.

The employment tribunal, which took place in central London, found that the statements were “patently related” to Mr Rouaba’s race and were “potentially problematic” as well as “derogatory”.

Mr Rouaba was awarded £14,246.40 in compensation.

In July 2019, allegations were raised about his conduct during a staff meeting, including that he had raised his voice at his boss and complained of discrimination after someone asked him to speak in “formal Arabic”.

‘A Bedouin character’

At the same time, Mr Rouaba submitted a grievance about both his manager and his boss’s manager.

In August 2020, Mr Jibara was interviewed by HR about the meeting the previous year and told them there was a “violence” and something of a “Bedouin character” to Mr Rouaba’s way of speaking and that he could be “sharp” during discussions.

He said: “We have to mention [Mr Rouaba’s] character and the fact he is from Algeria. There is a violence behind it [the way he speaks], a Bedouin character.

“He always shouts when he tries to give his opinion, he comes across as sharp. He can’t explain himself in a mild way. He always shouts and is nervous. This belongs to his character and his cultural character.”

Four months later Mr Rouaba attended a disciplinary hearing about the meeting, complaining that he was on “death row”, waiting for complaints against him. This was the seventh disciplinary process against him in three years.

After that meeting he was informed that he was being given a final written warning for his conduct during the meeting and saw the comments made about him by Mr Jibara.

‘Shameful and heinous’

He appealed the sanction and also complained about the comments by his co-worker but the grievance was not upheld as Mr Jibara was merely “attempting to explain” cultural differences.

The journalist sent several emails to the BBC complaining about Mr Jibara’s language, describing it as “shameful and heinous”, calling for the police to be involved and saying that his colleague was describing him as “uncivilised”.

During his interview, Mr Rouaba said that calling him a Bedouin meant he was a “savage” and “rebellious”, describing the comment as “racist and offensive”.

Following the rejection of his grievance, Mr Rouaba brought an employment tribunal claim against Mr Jibara alleging that the comments were part of a campaign of “harassment and intimidation” by two editors and their clique, including Mr Jibara, and that the BBC had not protected him from racial abuse.

A panel found that Mr Jibara’s comments did constitute racial harassment and created a “humiliating environment” for Mr Rouaba.

Employment Judge David Khan said: “We found that these impugned words were patently related to [Mr Rouaba’s] race, they were unwanted, and whilst Mr Jibara did not intend to harass [him], they had the proscribed effect on [Mr Rouaba].

“[Mr Rouaba] perceived that these words violated his dignity, and created a degrading, humiliating and/or offensive environment for him, as was clear from the many statements he made to that effect.”