Individuals Imprisoned for Assaulting Counter-Demonstrators

Five individuals involved in a protest who assaulted a contingent of counter-demonstrators during a period of public disorder following the Southport stabbings have received prison sentences. Faheem Rehman, Anis Ashfaq, Zain Akbar, Hasan Yousif, and Nazam Hussain were among a collective that assaulted a different group subsequent to an English Defence League (EDL) demonstration in Leeds city centre on 3 August. These public gatherings occurred amidst “significant fears of violence” after three girls sustained stab wounds in Southport in July, as was stated at Leeds Crown Court. The five individuals, having previously pleaded guilty to affray, were each sentenced to 20 months in prison. His Honour Judge Tom Bayliss KC commented that anyone participating in such violent acts “can always expert deterrent sentences”. Prosecutor Robert Galley stated that the altercation began when the two rival factions confronted each other on Great George Street while departing the protest from different directions. Mr Galley indicated that there “must have been some comment or some action” from the EDL demonstrators that provoked the violence around 16:40 BST. During his police interview, Rehman, 25, asserted that “racist slurs” had been aimed at his group by a contingent of four men, two of whom were adorned with Union flags and a third wore a Union flag mask. CCTV footage presented to the court showed Rehman, from Moor Grange View in West Park, delivering a punch and forcing a man to the ground before kicking him. This married father-of-one, who has no prior convictions, subsequently struck another man whom Hussain was holding in a “stranglehold”, as per Mr Galley. Hussain, 24, residing on Upland Road in Gipton, was additionally observed discarding an object during the altercation outside a bustling cocktail bar. Akbar, 22, from Buckingham Avenue in Headingley, was visible throwing a plastic bottle at an individual on the ground as that person was being kicked. The recording further depicted Yousif, 26, a full-time carer without prior convictions, of Belle Vue Road in Woodhouse, kicking a man who was on the ground, then kicking at a second man also on the ground. Ashfaq, 30, a car garage employee from St Anne’s Drive in Burley, was observed kicking a man while he lay on the floor. These men belonged to a contingent of approximately 17 individuals departing the vicinity after a pro-Palestinian demonstration that afternoon, which had occurred across from an EDL rally outside Leeds Art Gallery. Judge Bayliss informed the defendants: “It may be that insulting, even racially insulting, words were directed towards you.” He continued: “None of that justifies launching a violent attack on those in this smaller other group.” The court was informed that the victims of the assault did not sustain enduring injuries. The incident ceased when a member of the public exited her vehicle to intervene. A community impact statement from West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs, presented at the hearing, indicated that the protests occurred during a period of “significant fears of violence across the country” subsequent to the Southport stabbings on 29 July. This deadly assault, which resulted in the deaths of three young girls, incited demonstrations and civil disturbances across the nation. Assistant Chief Constable Twiggs stated that managing the protest in Leeds incurred a cost of £821,000 and redirected police resources from other areas. Judge Bayliss declared: “Society has always and will always tolerate peaceful political protest, but what society will not and cannot tolerate is intimidation and violence in public.” He informed the men that they would serve a minimum of eight months of their sentence incarcerated. Three additional men – Sameer Ali, Adnan Ghafoor, and Nadim Hussain – had previously been imprisoned for their involvement in the altercation.