Victim will ‘never
MAN COULD SPEND OVER A DECADE
A UNIVERSITY student who was viciously attacked in a Coventry park has been told his head injuries mean he can never play football or any other contact sport again.
Abdul Abdul left his victim with numerous injuries including skull fractures, a fractured eye socket and cheek bone, and a bleed on the brain following the horrific incident in Primrose Hill Park in Hillfields.
A judge told Abdul, who had kicked his victim – a Coventry University engineering student – to the head: “Not only was he lucky to live, but you were lucky he lived”, before passing a sentence which means he could be behind bars for more than ten years.
Abdul, 30, of Coventry Street, Stoke, who had a previous conviction for a similar incident, had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and assault. He was given an extended sentence of ten-and-a-half years in prison, of which he will have to serve at least two-thirds before the Parole Board will even considered his release. He will be freed before serving the whole sentence only if the Parole Board considers it safe to do so – and will then be on licence for the rest of the term and for a further three-and-a-half years. Prosecutor Martin Liddiard said that on June 23 a group of university friends went out into Coventry city centre to celebrate the end of their studies and the end of term. After leaving a nightclub in the early hours of the morning the group, including the victim and a friend, went into Primrose Hill Park, where they were “messing about”.
“The defendant came into the park and shouted to members of the group and began ranting, saying ‘I sell drugs and weapons’,” the prosecutor said.
“He grabbed the victim’s head and held him and kicked out at him, then asked [the friend] for a cigarette, which was refused, and he became aggressive.
“He went up to the victim and grabbed his foot, pulling his legs away from him, causing him to fall, and then kicked him in the face as hard as he could.”
Abdul then taunted the others, challenging them: “I’ve just attacked your boy, are you going to do something about it?”
He then kicked the friend to the ribs before grabbing the victim’s phone and throwing it back at the group, then leaving but returning to threaten that he was going to kill the