Two counter-protesters who turned out to protect their Mosque landed themselves in court after they took the law into their own hands and attacked an innocent man.
Arian Ahmed and Mujmain Uddin chased the man through the streets before launching a ‘racially motivated’ attack on their victim because he was a ‘white-British male’, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The violent assault was all captured on CCTV which showed how the man was knocked to ground before being kicked and punched.
The pair were amongst a large group of Asian males who had gathered on North Lodge Terrace in Darlington to protect their local mosque after learning that a protest was due to take place in the wake of the fatal stabbing of young girls in Southport.
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine and Bebe King, six, suffered fatal injuries in the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at a studio on Hart Street on July 29.
In the following days protests and rioting broke out across the country as large groups of people clashed with police battling to restore order in communities.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the two Darlington men armed themselves with a spanner and a crowbar before joining the counter-protest on August 5.
Rachel Masters, prosecuting, showed the judge CCTV of the defendants attacking their victim in the middle of the road after chasing him from the Gladstone Street area of town where he was helping a friend pick up their daughter.
She said: “The man stopped running as he thought he had made enough distance between the two men but then he was grabbed on the shoulder by Uddin and told the defendant that he didn’t agree with what was going on.
“Uddin took the man to the ground and the victim was hit to the face, the defendant Ahmed then kicked him twice – once to the leg and the second to the left side of his body.”
In a victim impact statement, the man said: “This was an unprovoked attack on himself and he believes it was racially motivated because he was a white-British male.”
Darlington sentencing LIVE: Pair in court for their parts in riots - updates
Ahmed, 19, of Derwent Street, Darlington, and 21-year-old Uddin, of Greenbank Road, Darlington, both pleaded guilty to violent disorder, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.
Cainan Lonsdale, representing Ahmed, said: "He found himself as part the counter protesters after elders in the community decided to protect the Mosque."
He said his client made the split-second decision to break away from the peaceful group and will live to regret that decision for life.
"He believed that members of the protesters had been making racial slurs and he wrongly believed the victim had been among them," he said.
He added that Ahmed accepts that the victim had played no part in the abuse or the disorder.
Shada Mellor, representing Uddin, said several references had been submitted on behalf of her client who has been described as somebody who holds a position of respect within his community.
"The implications of that day will stay with him for the remainder of his life," she said.
"What happened was a serious error of judgment that day, he is a man who is capable of rehabilitation."
See more court stories from The Northern Echo by clicking here
- Man enters plea for charge of murder of man, 23, after alleged 'stabbing'
- Here are some of the people jailed after riots and widespread disorder in the region
- Two XL Bully dogs almost tore Husky to death during vicious beach attack
Get more from The Northern Echo with a digital subscription. Get access for £3 for 3 months or 30% off an annual subscription. Offer ends on Wednesday, September 11. Click her for details.
Judge Francis Laird KC told both defendants that the seriousness of the disorder and the racially motivated element of the case warranted an immediate custodial sentence.
He said: “You both chose to take part in what became serious public disorder, you both chose to assault an entirely innocent man who had not been involved in the disorder in anyway.
"The public in Darlington are rightly outraged and disappointed by this behaviour. For this offence, only a custodial sentence is justified."
The judge sentenced Ahmed to a total of ten months detention in a young offenders' institute and Uddin was sentenced to a total of 12 months imprisonment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article