U.K. Men on Trial For "Death Penalty" Antigay Fliers

Five men are on trial in the United Kingdom for allegedly distributing hateful and threatening antigay leaflets at a 2010 gay pride parade in the English city of Derby.

Among the messages handed out: "GAY - God Abhors You," "Turn or Burn," and a graphic of a noose headlined with "Death Penalty?"

Prosecutor Bobbie Cheema told the Associated Press that the defendants "were part of a small group of men who distributed horrible, threatening literature, with quotations from religious sources and with pictures on them, which were designed to stir up hatred and hostility against homosexual people."

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the trial is the first prosecution for promoting hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation after a 2010 law outlawed such harassment.

The court in Derby heard testimony from gay men who received the leaflets: One testified, "They made me feel terrorized in my own home. Sometimes I wondered whether I would be getting a burning rag through the letterbox or if I would be attacked in the street."

Currently on trial are Ihjaz Ali, 42, Mehboob Hussain, 45, Umar Javed, 38, Razwan Javed, 27, and Kabir Ahmed, 28. The men face prison sentences of up to seven years if convicted.