The three Muslim men, from nearby Bolton, England, went on a drunken rampage without any particular incident to provoke them. Witnesses initially feared they were ISIS terrorists.
Criminal charges ultimately were brought against Amin Mohmed, 24; Mohammed Patel, 20; and Faruq Patel, 19.
Testimony showed that the trio accosted a number of people, asking them, “are you a Muslim?” Those who answered affirmatively were free to move on, but one Muslim who saw their assaults begin tried to intervene and stop them.
Edris Nosrati saw two of the men attacking someone on Bold Street around 3:30 a.m. Prosecutor Paul Treble recounted the incident during his presentation.
He [Nosrati] was concerned because one of them seemed to be using racist language, talking about Muslims and Christians. He was concerned as to their exact intent and that they might be associated in some way to an extremist organisation.”
Nosrati had been let go earlier by the thugs because he was able to use an Arabic phrase to prove he was Muslim. He tried to get the men to stop punching one victim, but was told “It is none of your business.”
He followed the gang to Renshaw Street, where the trio accosted Gary Bohanna. After asking Bohanna about his religion, they attacked him when he confirmed he was a Christian.
The attacker shouted “Why aren’t you a Muslim?” before punching him twice, breaking his glasses and causing a 2cm cut above his left eye.”
This attack was just one example of the havoc the trio caused in downtown Liverpool. Initially, they tried to blame their hooliganism on being drunk and also subject to instances of racial abuse in the past. The court didn’t buy their excuses.
The judge, Recorder Louise Brandon, said: “This was a disgraceful and sustained campaign of violence carried out on the streets of this city.”
Eventually, the men admitted their assaults targeted whites and non-Muslims and caused bodily harm. Faruq Patel admitted filming one of the assaults and laughing at the victim. Their disgraceful actions earned jail time for each of them.
Mohmed cried as he was jailed for 42 weeks. Mohammed and Faruq Patel received 42 and 18 weeks respectively in a young offenders institution.”
Ironically, by admitting they were extremely drunk, the trio was violating the Muslim prohibition on drinking while accosting and beating people for being non-Muslim.
Source: Liverpool Echo
