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“It’s people like you that are making the world a worse place.”

That’s one of the milder pieces of feedback Maysa Pritilata has received for encouraging people not to buy the upcoming video game Hogwarts Legacy.

Widely expected to be one of the biggest games of the year so far when it launches this week, it gives players the chance to become their own witch or wizard in JK Rowling‘s fantasy world.

It’s the first release in more than a decade of a major new Harry Potter game. It’s also the first big new game in the franchise since Rowling’s stance on transgender rights became a subject of public debate.

Search for the game online and you don’t have to look far to find opposition among the excitement; a Twitter video encouraging people to boycott has amassed more than nine million views; gaming forum ResetEra has banned all mention of the game; major site GameSpot published an essay about Rowling’s “anti-transgender stance”; and a fundraiser asking people to donate to a trans charity instead of buying the game has amassed more than £6,000.

For Maysa, a trans woman whose article about Hogwarts Legacy for openDemocracy brought vitriol to her inbox, it makes the decision to boycott an easy one.

“I love video games,” she says.

“I’m not boycotting it because I think my money is going to seriously harm the publisher, Warner Bros, or Rowling.

“But why would I do it to myself? Why would I do it to other people, who would feel like I’m validating the game?”

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has said the law will mean male predators can easily get access to women's spaces
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JK Rowling stands to earn royalties from Hogwarts Legacy

Trans fan ‘found solace’ in Potter

Since writing about her stance, Maysa’s inbox has regularly housed abusive messages from people who are excited about the game and support Rowling.

But not everyone who feels hurt by Rowling’s views can so easily brush her most famous creation aside.

“As a fandom, we have been looking forward to this game before it was even announced,” says Asher Chelder, a transgender Potter fan who admits his relationship with the franchise is “complicated”.

“I found a lot of solace in the series and it’s something I can’t shake. It’s part of who I am.”

Asher, who is part of the social media team at Potter fan site MuggleNet, is certainly not alone in his excitement.

But while many of those who have pre-ordered have done so out of pure anticipation, others say they’ve done so to spite the boycott movement or to show support for Rowling.

Asher says he was once one of “many LGBTQ people who looked up to Rowling”, whose views now “genuinely hurt people”.

The author is widely considered a champion of women’s rights, but has also been increasingly criticised for her stance on trans issues, especially since 2020, including her views on single-sex spaces and Scotland’s gender recognition reform bill.

Representatives for Rowling, who denies being transphobic, declined to comment when contacted by Sky News.

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Scotland’s gender bill explained

‘This is an important moment’

In the US, where Human Rights Watch has warned that a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills were filed by state politicians in 2022, there is also opposition to Hogwarts Legacy.

“This is an important moment to stand in solidarity with a very marginalised group with a large target on their back,” says game developer Brianna Wu, who received death threats in 2014 during the gamergate scandal – a misogynistic online campaign against women in the industry.

A former developer on Hogwarts Legacy, Troy Leavitt, left the project in 2021 after it emerged he had posted videos defending the campaign. He said he had resigned despite being “absolutely secure in my position”.

Hogwarts Legacy lets players create their own witch or wizard. Pic: WB Games
Image:
Fans can create their own witch or wizard. Pic: WB Games

Separating art from the artist

Warner has confirmed that Rowling was not directly involved in the creation of the game, but states they “collaborated closely” with her team on the project in an FAQ page on the game’s website.

Actor Sebastian Croft, who provides one of the voices players can choose for their character, claimed he did not know about her views when he accepted a role. He joins Potter film stars like Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in speaking out against Rowling’s comments.

It comes after the publisher was accused of trying to distance itself from the author while promoting projects like last year’s reunion special and its studio tour attraction in Leavesden.

The latter saw Sky News blocked from asking Potter actor Tom Felton about Rowling at a media event. Warner subsequently said that was “wholly wrong”, hailing Rowling as “one of the world’s most accomplished storytellers”.

“We are proud to be the studio to bring her vision, characters, and stories to life now – and for decades to come,” a statement said.

Warner did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Hogwarts Legacy from Sky News.

Read more:
The PR attempt to separate JK Rowling from Harry Potter

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JK Rowling censorship row explained

‘No real way to erase her’

The dilemma is one grappled with on a daily basis by Asher and his colleagues at MuggleNet, the world’s oldest Potter fan site, which launched back in 1999.

It now hosts a page outlining its dedication to trans people, stating that Rowling’s views are “out of step with the message of acceptance and empowerment” in her books.

Creative director, Kat Miller, tells Sky News: “We are all cognisant of the fact that she created this world, and there’s no real way to erase her from that – and that’s not our goal.

“But… it’s not only her views that are bothersome, but the fact she doesn’t listen to people who are consistently telling her she’s causing harm.”

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For Asher, distancing Rowling from her work makes it easier. He is still planning to play the game, but accepts that “people might hate” him, and that some LGBTQ people might not understand his actions. A view, he says, they have every right to.

“I’m just glad at the very least Rowling’s been separated from it as much as she can.”

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‘I think you’re looking for us’: Video shows moment Sara Sharif’s family detained on plane

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'I think you're looking for us': Video shows moment Sara Sharif's family detained on plane

Footage of the moment 10-year-old Sara Sharif’s alleged killers were detained after police boarded their plane back to the UK has been played in court.

As they are approached by officers, Sara‘s stepmother Beinash Batool is heard saying: “I think you’re looking for us.”

Batool, 30, Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, and uncle Faisal Malik, 29, are accused of carrying out a campaign of abuse against her culminating in her death at her family home in Surrey on 8 August last year.

The defendants, along with five of Sara’s siblings, aged between one and 13, flew to Pakistan the following day.

Sara’s body was found by police in a bunkbed on 10 August after Sharif called police from Pakistan to say he had beaten her “too much” for being “naughty”.

A murder investigation was launched involving agencies including Interpol and the National Crime Agency to locate the defendants.

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They returned to the UK on a flight from Dubai to Gatwick Airport on 13 September.

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‘I beat her up too much’

The clips of officers’ body-worn video shown to the jury on Friday captured the moment police boarded the plane and detained the defendants at 7.42pm, seven minutes after touchdown.

After Batool addresses the officers, Sharif, who had been sitting next to her, is asked to follow them.

The three were then taken off the plane and arrested.

Sara Sharif. Pic: Surrey Police
Image:
Pic: Surrey Police

A post-mortem examination established Sara had sustained extensive and significant injuries over a sustained period prior to her death.

The jury heard on Friday how concerns were raised by Sara’s school about bruising on her body in June 2022 and March 2023.

Read more:
Stepmother said Sara Sharif’s father beat her up ‘like crazy’, jury told
Sara Sharif ‘never smiled once’, jury told

Several items seized from Sara’s home were also reviewed by the court, including a leather belt which had full DNA samples at both ends for Sara, Sharif, and Malik.

A cricket bat was also found to have Sara’s DNA profile on it, along with the DNA samples of Sharif and Malik.

Neither item had a DNA trace of Batool.

The court also reviewed the defendants’ bank accounts – both joint and separate.

All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

The trial continues.

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Girl, 13, ‘critical’ after being found stabbed next to A63 in Hessle – as six teenagers arrested

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Girl, 13, 'critical' after being found stabbed next to A63 in Hessle - as six teenagers arrested

Six teenagers have been arrested after a 13-year-old girl was found with multiple stab wounds on a roadside near Hull.

Police said she was found around 6.50am on the A63 in Hessle with “life-threatening injuries” including “lacerations to her neck, abdomen, chest and back”.

Four boys and two girls – aged between 14 and 17 – were quickly arrested in a nearby wooded area and are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder.

Members of the public came to the girl’s aid before emergency services arrived, Humberside Police said.

Detective Superintendent Simon Vickers said they “believe the attackers knew the victim” and the circumstances are still being investigated.

“The girl remains in hospital in critical condition and her family are being supported by officers at this difficult time,” he added.

The boys arrested are aged 14, 15, 16 and 17, and the girls 14 and 15.

Read more from Sky News:
Boy who attacked sleeping students with hammers is named
Man arrested after burglary at Ben Stokes’ home

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Cordons are in place around a wooded area off Ferriby High Road while investigations continue.

Police said they would have an increased presence in the area over the weekend and have asked anyone with information or video to get in touch, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously.

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Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife tells court it was a ‘foolish idea’ to have someone with his ‘skillset’ in prison

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Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife tells court it was a 'foolish idea' to have someone with his 'skillset' in prison

A former soldier has told a jury his escape from Wandsworth prison to avoid being held with sex offenders and terrorists showed his “skillset”.

Daniel Khalife, 23, who was being held accused of passing secrets to Iran said he was “never a real spy” but planned a fake defection to the state following his arrest after watching American television show Homeland.

He said he wanted to be moved to a high-security unit because he was getting unwanted attention from the sex offenders on the vulnerable prisoners wing and feared a move to Belmarsh prison because, as a British soldier, terrorists wanted to kill him.

Khalife said he first wanted to “make a show” of escaping, acting suspiciously and covering himself in soot from a food delivery lorry on 21 August last year, while he was working in the prison kitchen.

He was spotted and reported to security but was “pretty shocked” when nothing happened so decided to take the “full measure,” he told the jury.

Undated handout photo of sling under the truck used in the prison escape of Daniel Khalife, which was shown to a jury at the Old Bailey, London, during his trial. Khalife, 23, is alleged to have fled his Army barracks in January 2023 when he realised he would face criminal charges over allegations he passed classified information on to the Middle Eastern country's intelligence service. Later, while on remand, he is alleged to have escaped from HMP Wandsworth in September 2023 by tying himself to the underside of a food delivery truck using bedsheets. Issue date: Wednesday October 23, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Army. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire ..NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
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A makeshift sling. Pic: Met Police

Talking about his escape for the first time at his Woolwich Crown Court trial, Khalife told how he fashioned a makeshift sling from kitchen trousers and carabiners used by inmates to keep their possessions safe from rats.

He attached it to the Bidfood lorry on 1 September last year, to see if it would be spotted by officers at Wandsworth or other prisons on the delivery route.

“I put the two carabiners and the makeshift rope underneath the lorry,” he said.

“When I had made the decision to actually leave the prison I was going to do it properly so I tested the security not just in Wandsworth

“Strangely, over the coming days, I could see it but it wasn’t spotted in Wandsworth or any other prison.”

Then on the morning of 6 September, Khalife said he concealed himself underneath the lorry, resting his back on the sling as the lorry was searched.

“They did normal checks around with torches but they didn’t find me. After that, a governor came to the tunnel and said, ‘Have you searched the vehicle?’

“I was facing upwards. There was action around the lorry.”

Daniel Khalife
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Daniel Khalife joined the Army aged 16

He said that when the vehicle stopped he “came out underneath the lorry and stayed in the prone position” until the lorry moved off.

Khalife, who joined the Army aged 16 and took up a post with the Royal Signals, based in Beacons barracks, Staffordshire, said he made no attempt to leave the country and had no intention to “run away” from the charges he was facing.

He was arrested three days later on the footpath of the Grand Union Canal in Northolt, west London, after a nationwide manhunt.

Asked why he had not handed himself in after his escape, Khalife said: “I was finally demonstrating what a foolish idea it was to have someone of my skillset in prison. What use was that to anyone?”

“I accept that I left the prison and didn’t have any permission to do so,” he said. “I accept absolutely that I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

Daniel Abed Khalife
Image:
Daniel Khalife

Inspired by Homeland

The court has heard Khalife initiated contact with Iranian intelligence officers after he was told he could not pass developed vetting because his mother was born in Iran.

Khalife told MI5 he wanted to be a “double agent” and he said in court he thought he would be “congratulated” but described his arrest as like a “punch in the face”.

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Wearing a blue checked shirt and chinos, he said police were “blinded at the prospect of a successful prosecution” but he did not think being in prison would be in “the public interest”.

“I didn’t do anything that harmed our national security. I wanted to put myself in a position where I could help my country,” he said.

“I believed I could continue my work actually located in the state – the state being Iran.”

Khalife said he took inspiration from watching Homeland, starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, in which Americans and terrorists go undercover, on Netflix.

“I had seen one of the characters in the programme had actually falsely defected to a particular country and utilised that position to further the national security interests of that character’s country,” he said.

“The country in question, Iran, thought it was real. She did it to further the interests of her own country.”

Khalife told jurors he is a “patriot”, adding: “I do love my country. All I wanted to do was help. I never wanted to do any harm, I never did do any harm.”

He added: “It is tragic it has come to this and I would do anything to go back to my career.”

Khalife, from Kingston, southwest London, denies a charge of committing an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state under the Official Secrets Act between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022.

He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge under the Terrorism Act of eliciting information about Armed Forces personnel on 2 August 2021, perpetrating a bomb hoax on or before 2 January 2023 and escaping from prison on 6 September last year.

The trial continues.

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