Fury as thug who attacked Jews is spared hate charges
VJEWISH GROUPS HAVE voiced their outrage after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped hate crime charges against a man who launched at least three unprovoked assaults on Charedi victims in North London, including one which left a man unconscious.
Abdullah Qureshi, 28, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates’ Court earlier this month to four counts of common assault, one count of criminal damage and one count of wounding or grievous bodily harm in the attacks in August last year.
But it has emerged that the CPS dropped the religiously or racially aggravated element of the charges, despite Qureshi having attacked only Jewish people, including a child and a 64-year-old man.
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and the British Board of Deputies spoke of their shock at the decision.
In a letter to the CPS, Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl wrote: “In 21st century Britain, our community should not have to feel unprotected by the public agency responsible for bringing criminals to account.”
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at CAA, said: “It is disgraceful that, once again, the CPS has proved to be the weak link in our collective effort to secure justice and protection for British Jews.”
In the attacks, an Orthodox Jewish man was struck in the face with what appeared to be a bottle, a child was slapped on the back of the head, and the 64-year-old male was struck and left unconscious on the ground, suffering facial injuries and a broken ankle.
The charges related to five incidents on 18 August investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s Central East Command Unit. He is due to be sentenced next month.
A CPS spokesperson said: “We do prosecute antisemitic offences where the evidence allows but it did not do so in this case. Abdullah Qureshi admitted one count of assault by beating and one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm. The religiously/racially aggravated charges were discontinued after medical evidence concerning his state of mind at the time.”