Javid visits scene of Croydon ‘hate attack’
THE perpetrators of the brutal assault on a teenage asylum seeker in south London must be brought to justice, Communities Minister Sajid Javid said today.
Mr Javid spoke out as he and Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell visited the scene where Reker Ahmed, 17, was beaten late on Friday night.
“When those responsible are apprehended and prosecuted it should absolutely be to the full extent of the law,” he said. “That is a message to the few people in this country who think they can attack someone else because they look different or act different.
“It’s important to show the country will never ever tolerate hate crime.”
They met residents and councillors including leaders from the Kurdish community on the Shrublands Estate, where the Kurdish-Iranian teenager was attacked. He was left with a bleed on his brain, a fractured eye socket and a fractured spine. A total of 13 people, including a 15-year-old boy, have been charged with violent disorder. Three are also charged with racially aggravated GBH.
Mr Javid said: “Reker Ahmed came to this country seeking refuge and safety and last Friday night he got the exact opposite.”
He added: “It does not represent Croydon or Britain in any way but when this does happen we must apprehend anyone responsible for this appalling and unacceptable crime.”
The minister dismissed any suggestion the attack was linked to anti-immigrant feeling after the Brexit campaign, which he supported.
The victim’s brother Hadi Ahmed described the condition he found Reker in during a visit to London’s King’s College Hospital yesterday.
“When I saw him the first time he was like, ‘Are you my brother?’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?... yeah I’m your brother what are you talking about?’” the 23-year-old said of the hospital visit.
“It was like that, just shocked. I was just hugging him saying, ‘You’re my brother’.”
Kurdish community leader Abdullah Abdullah said people were worried about their safety. “What happened was not only an attack on a Kurd. This could happen to others.”