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Alan Elyasi, 18, injured the man so seriously that it appeared "almost as if the front of his face was cut off", Nottingham Crown Court heard.
Judge Sean Morris said Elyasi's consecutive custodial sentences, adding up to ten years and four months, would have been longer were it not a waste of taxpayers' money– he will be automatically sent back to Iraq on his release.
Judge Morris described him as a "predatory young male".
Elyasi, of no fixed address, denied the rape, forcing his victim to give evidence.
The judge said it must have been traumatic for her to face in court a jury, judge and counsel.
"I have considered imprisonment for public protection in your case but I understand that deportation proceedings are to commence and you are to be sent back to Iraq at the conclusion of your sentence," he said.
"I, therefore, do not see why the British taxpayer should be put to the extra expense of that kind of sentence when we will be rid of you upon your release."
The girl Elyasi head-butted was his former girlfriend. Judge Morris described the act as "the mark of a coward".
On the same day, Elyasi challenged her new boyfriend to a "contest", which the other man declined, the court heard.
Elyasi produced a knife and repeatedly struck out at the man.
The most serious of several cuts was 15cm long and was so deep that part of the internal structure of the face was visible. The man also had cuts to his left hand, left thigh and upper chest.
The man slashed by Elyasi has been left with scars and movement in his face is affected.
"Attacking a man with a knife is again the mark of a coward," Judge Morris said.
"He was unarmed. You haven't the guts to take out your anger in any other way than a cowardly way."
Elyasi, who pleaded not guilty to all the charges, denied even being present during the attack in Cope Street, Hyson Green.
He was, however, found guilty of section 18 wounding with intent.
The girl he raped had gone back to a Radford house with him, his male friend and her female friend, on March 27, 2008.
Elyasi followed her to the bathroom and raped her on the floor.
With no previous convictions and in custody since his arrest in September, Elyasi tried to swallow a razor blade after he was convicted. Because of that, the probation service is, the court heard, worried about how he will cope with a long period in custody.
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Iraqi Rapist Nearly 'Slashed Man's Face Off'
Elderly Woman Sexually Assaulted in Leicester
The case has echoes of one which occurred in Manchester in early June, in which a male described as 'Asian' sexually assaulted a 73 year old woman:The elderly victim was approached by a man in Upper Tichborne Street, Highfields, Leicester, before he tried to grab her.
After the victim told the man that she was going to call the police he ran off into the nearby Warrington Court flats.
The incident happened between 2.30pm and 3pm on Monday, June 29.
The man is described as Asian, about 50, of a medium build, clean shaven and had short, red hair that was combed back.
The descriptions are erroneous; generally speaking such a case involves a Muslim male, not a Hindu or a Sikh.A WOMAN of 73 was followed home and sexually assaulted by a man.
She was walking along the canal towpath off Ashton Old Road, Openshaw at 5pm on June 4.
A man approached her and started talking to her. He walked along with her and sexually assaulted her in her home.
Detective Inspector Trish Owen said: “The victim was put through a terrible ordeal and this man must be caught.
“While incidents like this are rare, we ask people to be vigilant and walk in groups where possible.
“The man befriended the victim at a busy time of day so it is likely that people passed or saw them as they walked.”
The man is described as Asian, slim with short, dark hair.
Another case comes from Staffordshire. In January, a man pretending to be a doctor sexually assaulted an 82 year old woman:
Planned and predatory behaviour indeed - towards not only the infidel's women, but the most vulnerable members of his society.The 25-year-old managed to get hold of the pensioner's phone number and called to arrange to visit her bungalow in the south of Stoke-on-Trent on January 8 last year.
The city's crown court heard yesterday how the elderly woman suffers from deep vein thrombosis, angina, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – for which she requires oxygen and has several tanks – and depression.
Hussain called her on four occasions before he arrived, telling her he would take her some medication.
Prosecutor Robert Price said: "He kept saying, 'I will be with you soon, lovely, do not worry, I am on my way'.
"When she opened the door, he said he was the doctor. She thought he was genuine.
"He asked if he could wash his hands. He put his hands on her forehead and felt her pulse on her wrist. He felt her chest over her clothing and said she possibly had an infection. He asked her to lift up her top."
Mr Price said the woman did what Hussain asked as "he was really convincing".
It was when Hussain inappropriately touched the pensioner when he claimed to be examining her abdomen that she realised he was a conman.
Mr Price added: "She became frightened and started to panic. She jumped off the settee and demanded he showed some identification. He said he would go and get it and left."
The distressed woman called her daughter and the police were soon alerted.
The court heard the elderly victim is now frightened to answer her phone or front door and is too scared to go out on her own.
Hussain, of Thorpe Road, Walsall, pleaded guilty to sexual assault.
His counsel, Talbir Singh, said it was a repugnant piece of behaviour but said Hussain, a married father-of-one, was not mentally unstable and has not offended in this way before.
He said the shame of the offence will outlive any sentence and argued Hussain was not a dangerous offender.
But Judge Paul Glenn said Hussain displayed little empathy for his victim and classed him as dangerous.
"This is an appalling case," said the judge. "You deliberately targeted an elderly victim. It would be difficult to pick a much more vulnerable victim.
"It was planned and predatory behaviour."
He sentenced Hussain to an indeterminate sentence. He must serve a minimum of two years and three months before he can be considered for release, but the judge said the actual term he would serve would be significantly longer.
More Violent Burglaries
Although burglary is always a particularly odious and unpleasant crime, it becomes far more so when the occupants of the house are actually at home.
These burglaries, in which the occupants are actually held hostage whilst the thefts are carried out, are becoming all too common.
The following case happened in Nottingham, in which a middle-aged couple were tied up and beaten in front of their three year old grandson. At one stage, one of the three masked men asked Phillip Ward if he wanted to see his wife or his grandson die first:
The next case I stumbled across occurred in January of this year, and concerns a lady of 73 who was tied up in her home in Dorset as burglars ransacked it. It is thought the perpetrators had carried out a similar burglary in the same street:Philip Ward, 50, had a machete pressed against the back of his neck in his kitchen by one of three masked burglars.
The trio had burst into the Clifton home he shares with his wife, Annette, after they returned from eating out with their three-year-old grandson Oliver.
"I just wanted to take one more look at Annette and Oliver as I thought he would kill me," said Mr Ward, whose hands had been tied up.
"I gave him the code for my safe and was taken back into the lounge where Annette and Oliver were."He went up the stairs and cleared the safe out while one of the other burglars watched over us.
"Around ten minutes later he came back down. He said 'there's more piggies aren't there?" and that it was my fault this was happening. I said there wasn't any more, then he said 'which one do you want to see die first?"
Mr Ward was hit with the machete and Mrs Ward was ordered into a cupboard underneath the stairs of their home in Foxearth Avenue.
Earlier in their ordeal, Mrs Ward had tried to shield Oliver as he watched his grandparents being struck by the burglars. The couple's daughter and Oliver's mother, Hayley Ward, 27, from Clifton, said: "Mum was saying 'they are playing, they are only playing' as Oliver was watching her get hit. She was so brave."
During the incident, one of the burglars kept an eye on the family, another guarded the front door, while the third searched the house.
They eventually escaped with a large quantity of cash and jewellery.
Once the offenders had fled, Mrs Ward managed to alert a neighbour who called the police.
She said: "It's the sort of thing you see on TV, but not something you expect to ever go through.
"Of course myself and Phil have been badly affected, however I think our grandson has been left the most frightened."
A popular and well-known couple in Clifton, Mr Ward owns the Sunninghill Off Licence on Sunninghill Drive.
Police are urging the public to help them catch the burglars who were armed with a sawn-off shotgun and metal bar as well as a machete during the incident which began around 11pm on Saturday.
They are all described as wearing dark clothing and had facemasks. One is thought to be white or light skinned, around 5ft 6in and of slim build. A second man was black, around 6ft, medium build. The third mixed race, 6ft 2in, slim build.
Such cases are extremely troubling. Not only is there the unnecessary violence used against vulnerable people - but if you can't feel safe in your own home, then what is left?A 73-year-old woman has been tied up by burglars who forced their way into her home in Dorset.
Two men barged into the bungalow in River Way, Christchurch, on Friday night, and tied the wrists of the woman before ransacking the property.
The victim was left shocked and upset but did not suffer any physical injury.
Police said it is the second similar burglary in the same road in a month. In December a young couple were tied up and attacked by armed raiders.
Police said they were keeping an open mind about whether the two burglaries were linked.
Det Sgt Mark Jenkins said nothing appeared to have been stolen in Friday night's burglary.
He said: "To have two similar offences in a month in the same road in Christchurch is most unusual.
"Although there is nothing so far to suggest that the same burglars are responsible for both, I am still keeping an open mind.
"I don't believe that this was a random incident and [the victim] only saw one of the two men who came into her home."
He was described as being black, in his late 20s and between 5ft 8in and 6ft. He was wearing dark clothing.
Det Sgt Jenkins added: "The two burglars left the house on foot into Chestnut Avenue where I suspect that they had a car waiting."
He appealed to anyone who saw a "two men acting suspiciously in River Way near Oak Avenue around 8.45pm" or an unusual car parked or stopping in or near Chestnut Avenue" at that time to contact police.
Fears for France (III)
Timely, then, are three stories. The first is a slightly more detailed version of one I posted last time, involving police officers being ambushed after work, frisked and beaten up:
June 30, 2009 — Agence France-Presse — Two off-duty policemen were assaulted and beaten up tonight shortly after leaving the police station of Grigny (Seine-Saint-Denis), say police sources. [The Seine-Saint-Denis district, in the northern suburbs of Paris, has practically become a foreign enclave, populated by Arabs and black Africans. There is little doubt that the perpetrators are not aboriginal French.]The second, which makes the term 'civil unrest' seem a little understated:
According to this source, the aggressors had been “waiting” for their victims, and were “perfectly aware that they were policemen”.
The two policemen had left the police station in a private car belonging to one of them. One hundred meters along they stopped, after a trailing car flashed its headlights at them. Several men got out of the following car. They insulted the policemen and frisked them, looking for their guns, which they had left at the police station. Then the policemen were beaten up.
Another police car happened to drive by, making the aggressors flee.
On Friday, a grenade was hurled at a police station in the 3rd arrondissement of Marseille. No one was injured, but the building and several cars were damaged.
No arrests have yet been made.
The practice of targeting the police as revenge is becoming common place in France, not only in terms of such incidents as described above, but also opening fire on police vehicles, and trying to 'liberate' prisoners in the back of police vans.
It is quite clear that a large minority in France do not recognise the authority of the police or the state.
Meanwhile, rioters are on trial for the violence which gripped Villiers-le-Bel in 2007 after the deaths of two youths, whose mini motorbike collided with a police car.
Seventy seven police officers were injured in the violence - and the authorities fear it may flare up again as the trial stirs memories.
The prosecution have highlighted the organisation of the campaign of violence against the police, and the fact that the rioters had a will to kill officers for revenge. The ten on trial this week are there for hurling missiles and driving cars at the police; five accused of firing guns at them will go on trial later.
Youths organised the areas into sectors and groups, smashed street lights to hinder observation of their activities, and listened in to police radio broadcasts in order to set up ambushes.
In fact, the only thing that prevents this from being classed as civil war is the fact that the youths are not very well armed (although this is changing - attacks with AK-47s have been reported on some estates) and to date, no police officers have been killed in the violence - although only by sheer luck it would seem.
If any reader who is or can speak French stumbles across a story in this vein and wishes to translate and submit it, I would be most grateful.
Anarchists Riot in Hamburg
From The Local:
Anarchists from Hamburg’s autonomous scene battled police for six hours late Saturday and early Sunday in the trendy Schanzenviertel neighbourhood after a street fair. At least 67 rioters were arrested and 27 police officers injured.
Over 10,000 visitors visited the Schanzenfest street fair, but once it turned dark, over 1,000 young, masked anarchists came out to do battle, police said. The rioters threw bottles, stones and fireworks at police.
“The fusillade was extremely massive,” police spokesman Ralf Meyer told the daily Hamburger Abendblatt, who said the anarchists were more aggressive than in past years. For years, the Schanzenfest has often concluded with clashes between police and the left-wing, anti-fascist Autonomen, or “Black Bloc.”
Over 1,800 police officers were on duty at the event and deployed water cannons and riot sticks against the rioters. Many of the rioters were injured, though no specific numbers were available.
One police vehicle was torched by rioters, who also ignited trash cans and street barriers.
Two of the arrested rioters traveled to Hamburg from Berlin to take part. They were taken into custody after pulling out a backpack that contained a timing device that looked like it could set off explosives.
Police around Germany have warned in recent months that the ultra-left-wing anarchist scene appears to be becoming more violent. On June 21, thousands of anarchists tried to forcibly occupy Berlin’s Tempelhof airport. Police said rioters at this year’s annual May 1 riots in Berlin used Molotov cocktails against police, an escalation from recent years.
Inside a British Sharia Court
It's a bit too neutral and careful for a supposedly Right-of-centre newspaper, but it is still worth a read, if not only for a glimpse of how the establishment see no problem with current developments, and just how immigration is transforming Britain before our very eyes.
In a shabby converted sweetshop in Leyton, East London, a group of burka-clad Muslim women sit in a waiting room. They have an appointment with Dr Suhaib Hasan at his twice-weekly surgery.
The women look worried. There is no talking in the airless reception area - the only sound is a fan purring quietly in the corner as temperatures outside exceed 80F.
Inside, the atmosphere is just as stifling. There are no magazines, television or other diversions. The beige walls are bare except for a flow-chart depicting the process of securing a Muslim divorce, and a picture of Mecca.
This is no GP's surgery or Citizens Advice Bureau. Within these non-descript walls lies the nerve centre of sharia law in Britain, the headquarters of the Islamic Sharia Council, which oversees the growing number of Muslim courts operating in Britain.
For the first time, the Islamic Sharia Council has granted access to a newspaper to observe the entire sharia legal process in Britain. Over several weeks, I was allowed to witness the filing of complaints, individual testimony hearings and the monthly meeting of imams, or judges, where rulings are handed down.
Sharia has been operating here, in parallel to the British legal system, since 1982. Work includes issuing fatwas - religious rulings on matters ranging from why Islam considers homosexuality a sin to why two women are equivalent to one male witness in an Islamic court.
The Islamic Sharia Council also rules on individual cases, primarily in matters of Muslim personal or civil law: divorce, marriage, inheritance and settlement of dowry payments are the most common.
However, in the course of my investigation, I discovered how sharia is being used informally within the Muslim community to tackle crime such as gang fights or stabbings, bypassing police and the British court system.
A few hardline leaders would like it to be taken even further. One told me that Britain should adopt sharia punishments such as stoning and the chopping off of hands to reduce violent crime.
There are 12 councils or courts operating in Britain under Dr Hasan's group, based in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Rotherham and Bradford. Scores more imams dispense justice through their own mosques.
A study last week by the thinktank Civitas claimed that there could be as many as 85 sharia courts in Britain, although Dr Hasan says most of these are not formal courts. But it is certainly a growing network.
In his courts, support staff interview plaintiffs and compile a case study. Judgments are delivered by senior imams at closed monthly meetings and are sent in writing to the concerned parties. Up to 7,000 cases have been handled so far.
The Islamic Sharia Council is listed as a charity but people seeking a divorce, or talaq, must fill in a form and pay a fee. For a man it is £100; for women, it is £250 because the imams say it takes more work to process a woman's application as her word has to be corroborated.
The literal meaning of sharia is 'source of water in the desert', meaning the source of all spiritual life for Muslims. This is not just a code of law, but a way of life.
In sharia-based societies, such as Saudi Arabia or the old Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, crimes against society are punished by beheadings, stoning to death and amputations. Women are kept in purdah and limited to child-rearing and caring for the home.
All Western influences, from alcohol, music, television and movies, are banned. It is a rigid prescription for Islamic life that seeks its guidance from the days of the Prophet in the 7th Century.
In Britain, sharia courts are permitted to rule only in civil cases, such as divorce and financial disputes. Until last year, these rulings depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims. But now, due to a clause in the Arbitration Act 1996, they are enforceable by county and high courts.
Sharia courts are classified in the same way as arbitration tribunals - with rulings binding in law provided both parties in the dispute agree to give them the power to rule on their case.
However, a Muslim couple must still be divorced in the British courts for it to recognised under British law. The same provision in the Arbitration Act applies to Jewish Beth Din courts, which resolve similar civil cases.
Dr Hasan is the man who introduced sharia courts to Britain almost 30 years ago.
The softly spoken, grey-bearded scholar was born in Pakistan, studied in Saudi Arabia and worked in East Africa before moving to Britain in the Sixties. He is the Secretary of the Islamic Sharia Council of Britain and a member of the senior panel of imams who sit once a month at Regent's Park Mosque in London.
In Leyton, the imam calls the women into his office to begin a private session to gather evidence. The setting is modest yet its proceedings have all the gravity of a British courtroom - and most cases are conducting in English.
Under Muslim law, a man can divorce his wife simply by uttering the word 'talaq', yet a woman cannot be granted a divorce without the consent of her husband or winning a dissolution of the marriage from the imam. Even if the couple are divorced under British law, they remain married under Islam until divorced under the religious law, too.
Dr Hasan believes that far from trampling on women's rights, the Islamic Sharia Council is empowering Muslim women in Britain, giving them a way out of abusive and violent marriage.
Sitting behind a plywood desk, flanked by shelves of books on Islamic law and copies of the Koran, Dr Hasan hears evidence from an Afghan woman called Ameena (her name has been changed for her protection). She claims her husband is violent towards her and their five children, and she wants a divorce.
Ameena, 35, is backed by the testimony of two social workers, one of whom is Muslim, from a women's refuge.
'He beats me and the children, he doesn't give us our rights, he doesn't love me or the children and he is not interested in me and the children,' she says, also citing her husband's 'mental behaviour'.
The couple had entered an arranged marriage in the sand-blown city of Kandahar and came to Britain as refugees from war. Some years later the marriage faltered.
Dr Hasan's sparely written notes set out the extent of the marital misery: 'He beat her. Then he asked her to massage his shoulders and legs. When she said no, he beat her.
'One time her nose was broken and an operation was carried out. Another day, because of the beating, there was a miscarriage.'
Ameena's evidence is corroborated by statements from one of her daughters. The teenager said that as well as hitting her mother and the children, the father, who is in his 40s, forced her into an arranged marriage in Pakistan. She wants her marriage dissolved, too.
So far Ameena's husband has refused to grant her a divorce, accusing her and his daughter of being 'not mentally fit'.
Dr Hasan decides the case, which has been going on since 2008, is sufficiently serious to merit the consideration of the monthly meeting of senior judges at Regent's Park Mosque. Now Ameena's future lies in their hands.
Later that week, seven imams gather in a sparsely furnished committee room in the shadows of the mosque's magnificent golden dome. Seated around a rectangular table set with mineral water, a bowl of fruit and a box of Fox's luxury biscuits, they go through the various cases.
To the casual observer, it may appear like a rather dry committee meeting. But these men are in effect running a legal system that critics fear could fragment the legal framework in Britain. Laws that once ruled supreme in Kabul are now being enforced in cities across Britain.
It becomes clear that Ameena's story of violence, abandonment and difficulty in securing an Islamic divorce is not isolated. Several other cases during the meeting detail claims of 'terrifying abuse', including one where a gun was placed against a woman's head, and another husband who tried to strangle his wife and children.
If the husband has disputed his wife's word, the court demands her account is corroborated by other witnesses - preferably male. If the wife refuses to agree to give the husband access to their children, even in cases of possible child abuse, the divorce is stalled until that issue is resolved.
In another case, the imams agree a husband has treated the wife badly, beating her and their children and leaving them without support once he had been granted legal status to remain in Britain.
'He ran away and left the family, and the children began to hate the father,' says one of the imams. The man signed a petition for a civil divorce but had so far refused to allow a divorce under Islam.
The imams discuss the division of assets between the couple, including any dowry jewellery. They also decide to contact the husband one last time - if he fails to respond, he risks a dissolution.
Ameena's case is then raised. It is decided that her husband will be given another opportunity to respond. If all efforts to reconcile fail, then the marriage might be dissolved, but it is unclear who will care for the children. Under Islamic law, a child over seven usually goes to the father unless he agrees otherwise.
Ameena's fate remains in limbo. The following week I accompany Dr Hasan into enemy territory: he has been asked to speak to a group of female students in East London about sharia. The audience is made up of educated, articulate feminists, both Muslim and non-Muslim.
He tells them his organisation is concerned simply with implementing sharia law in Muslim personal legal cases and that 90 per cent of the clients are women seeking a divorce. The women nod.
Then he explains that sharia is about preserving the dignity, health and honour of the individuals. The nodding continues.
Confident, Dr Hasan tells them that in every part of the world, there can be only one authority.
'In Britain, the ultimate authority is the Prime Minister. In an army, it is the commander-in-chief. On the bus, it is the bus driver. And in the house, the smallest unit of society, sharia says authority must be with the man to maintain the house.
'The woman's duties are much harsher. Biologically, she differs,' he says. Her duties lie with the cleaning and childcare.
The mood turns black as Dr Hasan continues that under Islam, the woman is seen as someone who needs the protection of a man. In matters of divorce, the right of ending a marriage lies with the man because 'women have emotions, whereas a man thinks first before he speaks'.
At this, one white woman berates Dr Hasan. 'If you had said these things about a Jew or a black person, it would be totally unacceptable. Yet you think it is OK to say women are inferior. I cannot listen to this without making a stand.'
Another woman, an African professor, adds: 'In my house, my husband and I look after each other. It is an equal partnership. I don't need anyone to protect me.' Applause ripples through the audience.
An hour later, Dr Hasan emerges from the meeting - he has been attacked verbally but physically he is unscathed. As we walk together, he tells me that virtually all the imams in the UK are trained either in madrassas or religious schools in India and Pakistan, or are graduates of Islamic universities, such as Al-Azhar in Egypt.
Dr Hasan insists their work is not an attempt to bypass the British legal system and says the Islamic Sharia Council does not seek to extend its powers beyond divorce, marriage, dowry and inheritance cases.
'Muslim personal law can be accommodated within the British legal system. In the divorce process, if the British courts recognise Muslim divorce then there would be no need for us to apply for a divorce through the UK system.'
He refuses to accept that there is an inherent conflict between sharia and British law in areas such as equality for women and human rights.
'The problem with the feminist movement is they don't listen to the other side,' he observes gravely, stroking his beard.
I ask if he believes sharia is the best code of law. 'People say it's harsh, but we say it's a deterrent. In Saudi Arabia very few hands are cut. People will not commit the crime as they know the punishment is so horrible, unlike the UK system where people are jailed and the prison system does not work.
'But we cannot ask for sharia in Britain for criminal cases,' he concludes. 'For that to take place, the State needs to support sharia and I recognise Britain does not.'
Despite the feminists' fury, Dr Hasan is a relative moderate on the subject. Some hardliners want Islamic law to be extended to all criminal cases, tackling problems ranging from knife crime to robbery and under-age sex.
One such figure is Sarfraz Sarwar, leader of the Basildon Islamic Centre in Essex. His views have attracted controversy - his mosque was torched three times and eventually destroyed, and his home has also been attacked.
He tells me the windows of his living room are smashed every six months but the police have never caught the perpetrators. He now leaves the windows permanently broken in defiance.
Mr Sarwar insists sharia should be adopted to address rising crime in Britain. 'The British legal system is fair, but it's also very sweet for criminals,' he tells me.
'Sharia is the ultimate deterrent. If you commit a crime and you're punished by sharia, you won't commit it again. But if we praise anything from Islam, people jump down our throat.'
When I suggest that many people in Britain would find some of sharia's provisions extreme and difficult to accept, he agrees. 'We need to adapt sharia for British law. We could use some of the more moderate measures.'
Such as? 'Child abuse, under-age sex, teenage pregnancy, for example.'
I ask what the penalty would be for under-age sex. 'You won't like it. But sharia says if they're caught doing it, you stone the woman.'
Mr Sarwar's other suggestion is to adapt the 'three strikes' policy on crime. Instead of being jailed on the third conviction, a criminal could face having a hand chopped off.
'That would fit in with the way of life here. I'm not being extreme. This has to be used in moderation, for serious crimes, not petty robbery. In this country, people get away with murder.'
He refuses to accept the notion that values of human rights are enshrined in the British way of life.
'In Victorian days they applied sharia. They held people in stocks - there were public floggings, hangings. Why not go back to it? What's the big beef now? Too many goody-two-shoes talking about human rights.'
Mr Sarwar adds that the violence and intimidation he has faced will not silence him. 'I am not a sheep. I am a British Muslim. I pay my taxes, I obey the law.
'People break my windows but I say to you, why can't we mix and match? Take the best from both worlds. The law is like a curry. Different elements improve the flavour. Why not help improve the law of this country with elements of sharia?'
In some ways, I learned that this is happening already. The Somali community in Britain has long relied on the sharia principle of mediation and arbitration in criminal cases.
Saynab Muhamad, leader of the Somali Family Support Centre and one of the few prominent females in the Somali community, tells me how sharia law was used to resolve the case of knife attacks among teenagers a few years ago.
The family of one victim and the attacker came together under Somali elders and an informal hearing decided that the victim should be compensated by the attacker, who in turn was forgiven for the crime. The police were not involved and the matter was settled amicably.
In Somali Muslim culture, after a conflict or a crime is committed, a hearing is held. The judge, or quadis, will act as arbitrator, rectify the crime and reconcile-the two sides.
'In Somalia, the victim would forgive and then be compensated with camels, say 100 camels,' says Saynab.
'Here it would be with money. Sharia is embedded in our society and it has worked well to tackle problems here, too.'
She believes this way of getting community elders involved and taking direct control is more effective than simply relying on the courts, and if the British police wished to attend the hearings, they would be welcome.
For her, this is an example of how the sharia way has been adapted successfully to the British way of life. But critics remain unconvinced and see it as the route to a two-tier legal system, pointing out that under sharia, the law is heavily rigged against women.
Last week, Keith Porteous Wood, director of campaign group One Law For All and the National Secular Society, raised the issue with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in Brussels.
Hitting out at the use of Muslim arbitration tribunals, he said: 'Women are particularly vulnerable as they're forced to submit to these tribunals and Islamic law treats women less favourably than men.
'It's essential that it is one law for all in every country and that the law is democratically established and human rights compliant. Sharia fails that test.'
The subject of sharia is personal and capable of arousing deep passions in the community - inextricably linked, as it is, with Muslim identity and sense of honour.
Despite criticism from those in the West, the extent to which many British Muslim women rely on sharia courts became clear to me. Without them they would remain trapped in abusive or violent marriages.
For these women, sharia is not an instrument of oppression, but a route to freedom.
The women I met were unwilling to talk directly about their cases. Apart from divorce being deeply personal, a failed marriage is often seen a source of shame in their communities - though the idea of bypassing sharia and seeking a divorce solely in the British courts would bring far more disgrace to a family's social standing.
Equality before the law for all, regardless of sex, race or religion, is one of Britain's enduring principles. Women's and gay rights are now firmly enshrined in our law - a law that has evolved over centuries to reflect the pluralist democracy Britain has become.
But sharia is a law still rooted in the 7th Century; it sees modernity as the path to an immoral society.
While sharia gives Muslim women a chance to escape unhappy marriages, it fails to grant them equal status - they are considered inferior to men as witnesses, they have unequal status in divorce and custody of the children, and abuse by the husband is not directly tackled by the courts.
All these things go against the equality of British law.
As I prepare to leave Leyton, office staff are cheering on Andy Murray at Wimbledon, a scene being played out across the country. Meanwhile, in a back room, Sheik Haitham Al-Haddad, one of the most senior imams in Britain, is once more contemplating the fundamental split between religion and state.
'There is a conflict between these two sets of values,' he concedes. ' Muslims believe our values are best. The non-Islamic British believe theirs are better. But at the end of the day, understand this: Muslims are never going to give up certain principles, even if they are in conflict. That is a fact.'
Sharia law in Britain is here to stay and perhaps even spread. But it's a perilous tightrope we tread - the line between multicultural tolerance and protecting the right
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Canada 'Can't Deport' Convicted Sex Offender
So, they let him go free with some parole conditions instead:
At least they're honest about it - this man's safety matters far more than that of the Canadian public.A convicted sex offender and drug dealer who was supposed to be deported from Canada after leaving Manitoba's Stony Mountain Penitentiary this week is free on bail and remains in the country.
Farid Noedost, 33, is an Iranian refugee convicted two years ago of drug trafficking and sex offences involving minors. His convictions should have meant his immediate deportation once he was released on parole but on Thursday, Noedost went before an Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada hearing in an effort to prevent being sent away.
He told the board he would face execution if he was sent back to Iran. Immigration officials agreed, ruling the danger Noedost faced in being sent back outweighed the risks he poses to the Canadian public.
Michael McPhelan of the Immigration and Refugee Board, who ordered Noedost's release with strict conditions, called the man's conduct while in Canada 'despicable' and said he was a "danger to girls under 18."
McPhelan also said he was not convinced Noedost would not reoffend, but said there were no grounds to keep him locked up. Noedost has served his sentence.
Canadian immigration law states that a Geneva Convention refugee can't be deported unless the federal public safety minister declares him to be a dangerous offender.
Noedost came to Canada years ago and was given asylum as a Geneva Convention refugee. He was granted permanent resident status in 2001.
His lawyer told the immigration board that Noedost was granted the status because of the persecution he suffered in Iran.
Canada Border Services has asked for Noedost to be designated as a dangerous offender but no hearing has been scheduled yet.
While on parole, Noedost is prohibited from being around female minors and is required to meet weekly with a parole officer and monthly with immigration officials.
The Joys of Diversity & Cultural Enrichment (XXI)
1) Sweden
A mildly retarded teenage girl was raped by two immigrant youths. Not only was this incident not covered by the mainstream press, the two local papers that did pick it up tried to garner sympathy for the youths, referring to them as 'refugee children' (flyktingbarn).
From Gates of Vienna:
Many thanks to Zonka for the translation:
A fifteen-year-old girl with a slight retardation was forced to an apartment in Gävle, where she was raped by two young men. Both men had non-consensual vaginal intercourse with the young girl. Such an incident ought to have generated a big black headlines in the press. This is what the state’s “free and unfettered” news reporting looks like. SR [Swedish State’s Radio and Television — translator] didn’t even manage to pick the right month in their report. The rape happened in March.
Sveriges Radio Gävleborg — 2009-06-23
Two boys 17 and 19 years old were convicted today of the rape of a 15-year-old girl in an apartment in Gävle at the beginning of May. The 19-year-old was sentenced to two years in prison and the 17-year-old to juvenile detention for eight months. In addition they must also pay 82,500 Swedish Kronor for damages to the girl.]
Immediately after 7pm on March 8 a girl calls SOS [911 equivalent] and says that she has been raped by two men. A police patrol picks up the girl and transports her to the hospital. A medical exam is conducted with a so-called “rape kit”. The girl is able to identify the apartment where the rape took place, and the police conduct a house search; the apartment is owned by the two convicted rapists.
Gävle municipal court B 621-09 and conviction is announced on June 23, 2009.
- Ali Rasoul Mohamed, born 1991 and citizen of Iraq is convicted by the court on the following counts
1. Abuse 2. Illegal Threats 3. Rape
The consequence is confinement to juvenile detention for 8 months and expulsion from the country with an order not to return for 10 years. To the raped girl he shall pay 85,000 kronor in damages.
Costs for a public defense and legal counsel for the girl is paid by the state, and the total amount is 149,142 kronor.
- Twana Salmon Mustafa, born 1990 and citizen of Iraq is convicted to two years of prison. He shall be expelled from the country with an order not to return within 10 years. Furthermore he shall pay 85,000 Kronor in damages to the raped girl.
Ali Rasoul Mohamed is also convicted for abuse and illegal threats; this incident takes place in “Sesam”, which is a home for so-called “unaccompanied refugee kids”. It is some brawl in the kitchen with a bread-knife against another refugee kid that he is convicted of.
The rapes: — The girl doesn’t really want to follow the two men, but since they are pushing her [literally] and one of the men holds her arm, she reluctantly follows them to the apartment on Urbergsterassen in Gävle. Inside the apartment one of the men goes into the kitchen and closes the door. The girl is alone with Twana Salmon Mustafa, who starts kissing her, even though she dodges this and says that she wants to go home. Twana Salmon Mustafa pushes her towards two beds, pulls her over and starts undressing her. When the girl is naked Twana Salmon Mustafa takes off his own clothes, hurts her legs and consummates intercourse with her. When he is “finished” he calls Ali Rasoul Mohamed, who is in the kitchen. He enters the room basically naked, dressed only in a shirt, and consummates vaginal intercourse with the girl.
The girl’s mother and [maternal] grandmother testify in court that the girl alternates between crying and despair, and that chaos has entered the family since the rape. The plaintiff dares not go outside alone after the rape. The mother says that the girl’s logical reasoning is on par for her age but her maturity is five years behind her real age.
Rasoul Mohamed tells the court that the girl wanted to have sex with him after Twana Salmon Mustafa had had intercourse with her. Twana Salmon Mustafa says that he has never had sex with a girl who is 15-16 years old and that he has never forced any girl to have sex with him.
The city court finds the girl’s story credible coupled with the technical evidence such as DNA from the perpetrator. The policeman who picked up the girl after the rapes is also in the court and supports the girl’s story.
Both men lack attachment to Sweden and shall be convicted to expulsion from the kingdom. If the verdict is to be appealed, the last date for this is July 14, 2009.
2) Canada
An Afghan murderer dubbed the 'Midway Killer' in Ottawa has committed a lengthy list of crimes and infractions during his six years in jail - but his defence insist that he has served so long on remand for manslaughter that he should be released:
OTTAWA — Prosecutors seeking lengthy jail time for Midway killer Wahab Dadshani have produced a list of misdemeanours that the 31-year-old committed during his almost six years in jail.
A jury found Afghanistan-born Dadshani guilty of manslaughter last month in the September 2003 killing of Charbel Chaar at the Midway Family Fun Park, off St. Laurent Boulevard.
Chaar, who was badly beaten during the attack, died from blood loss after Dadshani attacked him with a sword.
There is a significant gulf between the 15-year sentence assistant Crown prosecutor Robert Wadden is seeking and the immediate released being sought by Dadshani’s lawyers. Now, what was scheduled as a two-day sentencing hearing, will last at least another day.
Wadden called Ottawa Regional Detention Centre security manager Jean-Marc Joly Tuesday to testify about Dadshani’s disciplinary record that dates back to Oct. 10, 2003, a month after he was arrested.
Joly listed about a dozen infractions that included refusing a strip search for religious reasons, spitting on a cell door, inciting other prisoners, smoking tobacco in his cell, refusing to leave a staff passageway after being asked three times to do so and using profanity while suggesting that another inmate should be forced to engage in a sexual act with “a 1,000 mules.”
He was also disciplined for possessing a newspaper story containing a photograph of the institution’s deputy superintendent Mark Grady — not a contravention of rules, said Joly, but an incident that made prison authorities concerned about Grady’s safety.
Dadshani has spent much of his incarceration at the Ottawa facility in “closed confinement” meaning he has been locked in a cell for more than 23 hours, with 20 minutes allowed for exercise.
During time “in the hole” prisoners have a metal bed without a mattress (until night time) and are allowed one book. They eat in their cell, segregated from other prisoners.
Under questioning from defence lawyer Mark Ertel, Joly said Dadshani had also periods in segregation because of construction at the jail.
Dadshani is currently in solitary although not for any specific offence, added Joly.
Ertel has told Justice Hugh McLean that any extra prison time for the manslaughter conviction would be excessive punishment.
Ertel said the 31-year-old should be given two-for-one credit for the almost six years he has already been in custody and be immediately released.
During the early part of Dadshani’s detention, conditions have sometimes been considered so bad at the Ottawa facility that judges were giving three-for-one credit for time served there — a fact Ertel has signalled he intends to raise during the hearing, which continues on Wednesday.
3) Britain
A violent train robber has been jailed for mugging and threatening to stab a string of commuters in South London:
A Crystal Palace man who threatened to stab his victims in a spate of robberies on trains in Streatham, Tulse Hill and West Norwood has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Gabriel Matu, 18, of no fixed address but local to the Crystal Palace area, robbed seven passengers between December 20 last year and January 28.
He targeted victims for their mobile phones and threatened to “shank” - stab - them if they did not hand over their possessions.
He was arrested after British Transport Police (BTP) used CCTV to trace his movements after he robbed a man on board a train at Streatham railway station, then was stopped by a ticket inspector for travelling without a ticket.
Each of the victims was put through a frightening ordeal by Matu, the BTP said.
Detective Constable Oliver Gilbert, of BTP's south London robbery squad, said: “The victims were cornered on a moving train and with no means of escape, and Matu was able to put them in such fear that they handed over their property.
“These offences were extremely serious - although no knife was ever seen by the victims - Matu intimated that he had one.”
Another Violent Burglary in London
Here is yet a third case of an incredibly violent burglary carried out in London, in which the occupants were held hostage whilst the thugs ransacked their home:
BROWN: TEEN HOODIES GUILTY OF RANSACKING COUPLE'S HOME
HACKNEY, E LONDON. Two teenage hoodies who kicked down a couple's front door and ransacked their home at Christmas are facing jail today (fri). Lemar Brown, 18, and Jamal Gordon, 17, threatened Thomas Mayers and girlfriend Charley Munro with a baseball bat and a crow bar during the terrifying raid.Al-Shabaab in the U.S. & Sweden
There have also been cases of Somalis with Swedish passports being killed fighting alongside al-Shabaab in Somalia.A federal grand jury has indicted a group of Somali-Americans on terror-related charges after more than 20 young men from the Minneapolis area were recruited to join an Al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, according to two law enforcement sources.
The indictments have yet to be unsealed, but an announcement is expected in the next few weeks. One law enforcement source told FOX News the grand jury already has handed up indictments against at least three people.
Among those charged is a man from Minneapolis who went to war-torn Somalia and then, about four months ago, relocated to Seattle, according to the two sources and a leader in the Minneapolis Somali community. The man was then arrested in a Seattle airport and transferred to a jail in Minneapolis, where he is currently being detained, according to the law enforcement sources.
The law enforcement sources said the man, described as in his 20s, has been charged with providing material support to a terrorist group, in this case al-Shabaab, which has been warring with the moderate Somali government since 2006.
Omar Jamal, the executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minn., and another source within the Somali community in Minneapolis identified the man as 21-year-old Abdifatah Ise. Jamal said Ise's family contacted him for "assistance" after the arrest, but he had been unable to speak publicly about it until now "in the interest of" a federal investigation.
For much of the past year the FBI has been looking into how dozens of young, Somali-American men were recruited to train and possibly fight alongside al-Shabaab in anarchy-stricken Somalia. The investigation has centered around Minneapolis, where a grand jury has been hearing testimony from witnesses for several months, but the investigation has also been active in Seattle; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati; Boston; and San Diego.
A source told FOX News in March that "several" recruits had returned to the United States, but counterterrorism officials have repeatedly said there is no intelligence indicating that any such recruits are planning attacks within the country.
"[Their] primary focus obviously is not on the homeland, it's abroad," Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said during a briefing with reporters last week. "But any time you have people who are being trained in terrorist-type activities, that's something that needs to be monitored."
According to Osman Ahmed, whose 17-year-old nephew was one of those to go to Somalia late last year, at least a dozen people have testified before the Minneapolis grand jury in the past few weeks alone, including officials from the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center in St. Paul.
One law enforcement source said that shows "major progress" in the investigation, since the Abubakar mosque has been a focal point for investigators from the beginning.
Many of the men recruited to join al-Shabaab attended the Abubakar mosque, and several mosque officials, including director Farhan Hurre, could face indictment, one source said.
In addition, a youth volunteer at the mosque, Abia Ali, recently testified before the grand jury, and she is now worried that she could face indictment, someone close to Ali told Fox News. According to Ahmed, who said he also talked to someone close to her, Ali had been planning to visit family in Africa sometime in the next few weeks, but after testifying to the grand jury authorities told her not to leave the country.
in a statement posted online in March, the Abubakar mosque said suggestions it had any role in the recruitment were "unfair" and untrue.
"Abubakar Center didn't recruit, finance, or otherwise facilitate in any way, shape, or form the travel of those youth," the statement said.
Ahmed and others have long insisted otherwise.
"Like his peers, [my nephew] was never interested in Somali politics," Ahmed said during a Senate hearing on the issue in March. "These kids have no perception of Somalia except the one that was formed in their mind by their teachers at the Abubakar Center. We believe that these children did not travel to Somalia by themselves. There must be others who made them understand that going to Somalia and participating the fighting is the right thing to do."
Not all of those who went to Somalia have returned to the United States. Some are still fighting alongside al-Shabaab, and others have died there.
Ahmed's nephew, Burhan Hassan, was killed in Mogadishu four weeks ago. It's unclear exactly how he died. Ahmed suggested his nephew was killed by members of al-Shabaab. Law enforcement officials said Hassan was likely killed by artillery fire or a stray bullet.
Eight months earlier, in October 2008, 27-year-old college student Shirwa Ahmed of Minneapolis became "the first known American suicide bomber" when he blew himself up in Somalia, killing dozens, according to the FBI.
Now the Bellevue Mosque in Gothenburg has invited Xasaan Xuseen, the spiritual leader of al-Shabaab, to speak at a conference which started on Thursday.
Many Somalis are against this decision and afraid of their children being brainwashed into joining the fighting. The Swedish Security Police are more cautious:
According to the information, Xasaan Xuseen is Somali but lives in Kenya. The concerns that he's in Sweden to recruit youth and to collect funds might be well-founded. According to Säpo there are currently a dozen Swedish citizens in Somalia, active in al-Shabab's activities in the domestic chaos in the country.Of course, the best way to stop this group spreading, along with a variety of other problems, would be to simply halt Somali immigration to Western countries.
Malena Rembe says that al-Shabaab as an organization is probably not active in Sweden, but there are people who travel from Sweden to participate in al-Shabab's terror activities.
She stresses that Säpo does not officially label organizations as terrorist organizations, but says there's little doubt of how al-Shabaab's activities should be categorized. A large part of their work-methods are suicide attacks where civilians are killed. According to Swedish law, it would be defined as terrorism.
Al-Shabaab is a young movement. They have admittedly collected money in the UK as well as in Scandinavia, but only operated in Somalia. "But they threatened to attack neighboring countries and Western targets in the region, as well as individuals in Denmark and Sweden," says Malena Rembe.
Magnus Ranstorp of the Swedish National Defence College, says that al-Shabaab is not labeled a terrorist organization by the UN or EU (the organization is on the US terrorism list). He says there's been warnings that the battle in Somalia might be internationalized, but we are not yet at that stage.
What does it mean when a spiritual leader for the movement comes to speak in Sweden? Magnus Ranstorp says that it will be no exaggeration to say that if they're here, it means something special.
Representatives for the Islamic Sunni Center Faith-Society GP spoke with did not want to comment on the invitation of Xasaan Xuseen.
Double Standards in Gaza
Some segments of Western society go as far as to refer to the strip of land, blockaded by Israel, as 'the world's largest concentration camp', in a shameless, hyperbole fuelled testament to their complete lack of ethics.
As ordinary Gazans complain about a lack of basic goods and have to pay high prices for 'poor quality' food smuggled from Egypt, a 21-strong team of foreigners have been detained trying to break the blockade:
Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and 20 others were held after their relief ship was stopped in international waters by the Israeli navy. The Greek-flagged ship, the Spirit of Humanity, was carrying medical supplies, olive trees and children's toys.Of course, there is much pressure from Leftists and other Islamist shills and Trojan horses, such as CAIR, to release these people, who were simply trying to bring 'humanitarian relief'.
Most people are agreed - Israel should simply lift the blockade, and allow the smuggling of weapons and the indiscriminate attacks on its civilians and soldiers to continue.
No one ever asks what Hamas could do to help the process along, however.
Whilst Israel and the wider West are supposed to put their safety behind the rights of Gazans to buy outside goods, Hamas have bigger fish to fry than the needs of their citizens. They are forcing their government employees to take pay-cuts in order to fund Koranic study centres.
These will enable the spread of Islamist propaganda and prop up the terrorist group's own power base:
On the one hand, the 'international community' wants Hamas to be treated as a legitimate government.Gaza: Hamas imposes 'Koran levy'
Salaries of public officials in Strip to be cut in effort to reinforce Koran study centers
Special Hamas tax: The Hamas government in Gaza has recently decided to cut the salaries of Palestinian Authority employees in the Strip in order to finance Koran studies. In an effort to reinforce Koran study centers across Gaza, Hamas has decided to deduct one percent of the salaries of public officials in the Strip and earmark the funds to the Koran schools.
Notably, Korean study centers in the Strip are considered a major Hamas power source used to elicit support for the organization.
Dr. Taleb Abu Sha'r, the Minister for Religious Affairs in the Hamas government, said the decision aims to encourage Koran studies and religious devotion.
"The decision proves that the government attaches great importance to those who teach and study the Koran, and it expresses a desire to assist them," he said.The new "Koran levy" is not the only unusual tax introduced by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Every few months, the Hamas government enforces a deduction in the salaries of each public official in order to pay unemployment allowances in the Strip.
On the other, it seems to suggest that Israel has far more moral responsibility for ordinary Gazans than those we are told they 'democratically elected' to rule them.
They can't have it both ways.
Muslim Councillors Create Roles for Cronies
It's the sort of wage you'd normally associate with a Premiership footballer or a City trader - £800 for a minute's work.
But the amazing sum is paid with taxpayers' money to council meeting chairmen at Tower Hamlets in East London.
All councillors get an allowance of £9,698, but committee chairmen get an additional £8,069.
However, Tory councillor Phil Briscoe believed the Labour authority had created extra roles for a group of 'cronies'.
He asked for a breakdown of how long each committee leader had led meetings in the last municipal year.
Labour councillor Salim Ullah managed just ten minutes with the appeals committee, which works out at £807 a minute.
Labour's Mohammed Shahid Ali spent 91 minutes on the general purposes committee, making £5,320 an hour or £88 a minute.
Councillor Briscoe said: 'It is hard to imagine any politician in Westminster could clock up allowances at such a rate.'
Councillor Ullah refused to comment but Councillor Ali said: 'The time spent actually in committee is a very small part of the work of a committee chair.'
The council said: 'Allowances for nearly all chairs are significantly below recommended amounts.'
Friday, 3 July 2009
Deported Illegal Returns to Carry out Sex Attacks
Yesterday he was jailed for just fifteen months for a string of eight sex offences. One of the victims was a seventeen year old schoolgirl:
An illegal immigrant deported for a string of sex attacks was jailed for 15 months today after he returned using a fake passport to target more women.
Daniel Samson, 44, initially came to Britain 10 years ago on a family visa obtained in Germany.
He was first imprisoned for 15 months in 2002 for groping a total of 18 women in the street.
After his release he was driven to Heathrow and put on a plane to Lagos, Nigeria, London's Southwark Crown Court heard.
But he later slipped back into Britain to commit a further eight sex offences against bus passengers, including fondling a 17-year-old schoolgirl, between last September and January this year, Nick Wells, prosecuting said.
He said the crop-haired defendant used his fake passport to get a job as a London Underground cleaner and then 'followed the same pattern' in his latest crime spree.
Apart from the teenager all of the victims were in their 20s, including some at college or university.
Having boarded a bus he would sit next to a woman on her own, expose himself, nudge them to get them to notice he was performing a sex act, and then apologise repeatedly.
On one occasion he woke up his 'shocked and distressed' victim to show her what he was doing, while on two others he 'boxed the passengers in their seats' when they tried to escape.
The barrister told the court he usually left if other passengers got on or noticed what he was doing, although a couple of times he briefly followed those he had targeted when they got off.
Finally, at the end of January, he targeted the schoolgirl.
Mr Wells said after he began 'playing with himself', he sexually touched the horrified youngster.
He did not stop until she threatened to call the police and after he left, she called 999.
Officers tracked down his Oyster card number, linked it to the Barclays Bank card used to top it up, and traced him to an address in Peckham, south-east London.
Mr Wells said: 'Officers were greeted by a female who said only she and a child were there.
'But they then heard someone else in the house and found the defendant trying to leave through a window at the back.'
The barrister said London Underground was contacted and his work locker searched.
He added: 'Numerous passports were found in different names but all with his photograph in them.'
He was originally charged under one of his aliases, but after a fingerprint check linked him to the earlier offences he was properly identified.
Samson remained silent when interviewed but later pleaded guilty to seven offences of exposure and one of sexual assault.
Said by his barrister to 'want to apologise to everybody', the serial sex offender bowed his head in apparent shame as he was jailed.
Judge Anthony Pitts told him that after his deportation in 2002 the evidence suggested he had 'come back into this country on a false passport.
'You are here illegally and the second series of sexual offences in this country makes another recommendation for deportation inevitable.'
The judge said although Samson was not considered 'dangerous' in the sense that an indeterminate prison sentence could be justified, 'the sheer scale and sheer persistence of your offending' meant immediate custody was also unavoidable.
'The offences are all of a pattern, although the two occasions where you followed your victims off the bus are a cause for concern.'
The judge added that apart from his previous convictions, 'what also aggravates these new offences is the upset and anxiety and distress caused to the victims, something you don't expect to be faced with when taking public transport.'
Muslim Who Left Girlfriend to Die Jailed
Today Arshad was sentenced for this despicable crime - and received just six years in prison.
From the Mail:
But it can be put into a pathetic, minuscule prison term - six years inside, plus an eight year driving ban.A man whose girlfriend burnt to death in a car after he crashed into a tree while drunk was jailed for six years today.
Waqas Arshad, 24, of Sherd Close, Luton, Beds escaped the Citroen C4 after he ploughed into a tree in November last year but left 17-year-old Emily Brady to perish in the blaze.
Today Arshad was jailed for six years at Luton Crown Court after previously pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed alcohol limit, and causing death by driving while uninsured.
The court heard Arshad was roughly twice the drink-drive limit at the time of the crash on November 2.
He left the Steppingley Road, Eversholt, Bedfordshire, at a sweeping bend, in wet conditions, ploughing into a tree and ending up in a field.
Natalie Carter, prosecuting, said when emergency services arrived Arshad twice told them there was nobody in the car and said he was a passenger.
She said Emily - Arshad's girlfriend of six months - was still wearing her seatbelt and her door had not been opened.
But today Judge John Bevan said he could not be satisfied Arshad, who said he did not remember what had happened that night, would have given those answers if he had not been drunk and in shock after the accident.
He sentenced the 24-year-old to six years in prison and disqualified him from driving for eight years.
He said: "I have read the rambling 10-page letter which sets out how sad you are at causing the death of your girlfriend and I have no doubt whatsoever that you are.
"The contrast between that and the deeply moving impact statement from 17-year-old Emily Brady's mother, a nurse, forms an unbridgeable gulf.
"Her description of the loss she and her family suffered and continue to suffer at your hands cannot be put into words."
This is an insult to the girl's friends and family and all civilised people.
Islamic Art Project Condemned in Poland
The plan was to turn a tall chimney in Poznan, western Poland into a minaret - but the project has caused fury in some quarters, particularly as the design is to be based on the minarets of a West Bank mosque which has launched suicide bombers into Israeli territory.
Predictably, the artists countered that claim by insisting that 'the West Bank harbours victims of Israeli aggression' - but unlike in the rest of Europe, it seems that such nonsense is not stood for in Poland.
From Top News:
Warsaw - An art project that would transform a tall chimney into a minaret drew controversy in western Poland as critics said it mocked Catholics, a Polish daily reported Friday.Architect Joanna Rajkowska was invited to design a project in Poznan, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported. But architects and Catholics alike criticized the design, which turned a chimney into a minaret in a symbol of diversity.
"The idea is absurd," a local government official told the daily. "It would be like building a belfry in Qatar with Muslim tax money."
Architects said the project could be seen as "mocking a religious symbol." Others said it was modeled on a mosque in the West Bank from which suicide bombings were launched into Israel.
Rajkowska said the project was not an attack on Catholics or Jews, while the West Bank city of Jenin also housed "victims of Israeli aggression."
However, the daily said the project may never be realised, because of the city's budget deficit.
The installation, valued at half a million zloty (160,000 dollars), was to be ready for next year's Malta International Theatre Festival.
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