A woman was left feeling violated and dehumanised after being subjected to horrific racist abuse and spat on during chaotic 'protests' in Manchester.
In a shocking display of Islamophobia, Thomas Richard, 56, joined a mob in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3, where they targeted three young women wearing hijabs and headscarves with vile slurs. Manchester Crown Court was shown footage of the group encircling the women and spitting at them, with one man's spit hitting a woman's face as she shopped in the city centre.
The unrest was sparked by false rumours about the identity of a man involved in a tragic incident in Southport, leading to the gathering. Richard, from Miles Platting, in Manchester, who had earlier admitted to violent disorder, was sentenced to prison on September 24.
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The court heard the victim's impact statement, where she expressed her shock and disgust at the treatment by far-right EDL members: "I am very much appalled and disgraced at the behaviour of the far-right EDL members towards myself. The assault was completely unprovoked as I was just watching from a sensible distance and do not feel under any circumstances I deserved what had happened to me.", reports the Manchester Evening News.
She continued, detailing the humiliation of the attack: "Being spat on is a despicable act that made me feel extremely violated, degraded and dehumanised. I felt scared and worried for my safety (and others) in that moment and I still do."
"As a result of this assault I am now terrified to leave my own home because of these people and what happened to me."
The court was told that the 22 year old woman, who identifies as white British and was wearing a hijab and a keffiyeh scarf in support of Palestine, was observing the large group and police in Piccadilly Gardens during the afternoon.
"Seeing that the group were becoming more violent, and the police were trying to disperse them in a different direction, she tried to go across Piccadilly Gardens," prosecutor Kate Gaskell explained.
"She heard shouts of "Stop the boats" AND "Go back home", as well as comments about her God, Allah, and religion. She said 'I could feel how hateful those words were, especially as I was there on my own without anyone I knew'."
"She was confronted by one member who said, 'What are you doing here, can't you see you are antagonising us'. She informed him she was simply watching. In retrospect she thought perhaps she should have left but she didn't want to let them win, and it was a public place."
The court heard that the situation escalated quickly, during which time two Muslim girls in headscarves came to join her. They were quickly surrounded by a large group of individuals chanting "Go back home."
The woman bravely stepped in to defend the two girls, only to have the crowd's insults turned on her. They accused her of being brainwashed and questioned if she had been married at the age of 6.
The mob grew more hostile, shouting 'Get that terrorist flag off her' and yanking at her Keffiyeh scarf until several Muslim men intervened. "Before she had a chance to move, she felt spit land on her right cheek," Ms Gaskell added.
In a video obtained by the police, Richard can be seen chanting and making gun gestures with his fingers towards the three girls, yelling: 'F*** off home. "He was shouting aggressively and spat in the direction of the three girls, although he wasn't responsible for the spit that landed on the victim," the prosecutor clarified.
"The defendant continued to shout 'F*** off home' and then 'F*** off to Palestine'. A photojournalist present also heard him say something along the lines of 'Take the burkas' and 'We want our country back'.Damien Zelazowski, defending, admitted that the three young women were 'targeted' by the group for some time and were 'pursued' even under police protection.On the day of the incident, he explained: "He was passing through on his way to St Anne's Square to go to the food bank. He saw the protests and got involved thinking it would be more peaceful than it turned out to be.
"But he didn't move away and he became more involved. He does offer his apologies, he is ashamed of what took place."
He became emboldened by the crowd and, to use his wording, swept up. "Sentencing Richard, who has 55 previous convictions for 141 offences, Judge Patrick Field KC said the 'protest' had the appearance of people 'venting ill informed and ignorant prejudices'."
They were racist, ill informed and Islamophobia chanting and vile abuse towards her. Her calm defiance in the fact of what was being said to her was frankly admirable and humbling," he said."
She stood up for herself and her beliefs in the face of the nasty, ill educated and intolerant comments. She said she felt dehumanised by what happened to her - she demonstrated more humanity than many others present.
"You were threatening and deliberately insulting her not because you took a personal dislike to her, but simply because of her Muslim faith." Richard, of Kingsland Close, Miles Platting, was jailed for 20 months. He was also banned from entering a certain area in Manchester city centre for three years under the terms of a criminal behaviour order.
