UDDIN: MUSLIM PATROL GANG JAILED AFTER BOTTLING AMERICAN STUDENT FOR DRINKING ALCOHOL
Five thugs who smashed a bottle of Jagermeister into an American student’s eye were jailed for a total of just 15 and-a-half years today (Mon).
Francesco Hounye, 23, had been in Britain just three days when he was set upon by the mob who kicked him in the head as he lay seriously wounded on the ground.
Mr Hounye was attacked in an area where a ‘Muslim patrol’ attempting to enforce Sharia law in east London had previously been caught on camera, but police have stressed that this was not the motive in this case.
He left too terrified to go out in London after the incident and has since returned to Florida.
Mr Hounye was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and dropped out of college where he had been training to be a commercial pilot, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Samad Uddin, 25, Shaleem Uddin, 21, Shadhat Hussain, 20, Kamrul Hussain, 23, and Masoom Rahman, 22, targeted Mr Hounye when they saw him swigging from a bottle of Jagermeister liquer.
The student had been out for the night and was walking with a friend to his home in Shadwell, east London.
He was confronted by the group who wrestled the bottle from him.
The thugs chased him, continued to beat him and smashed the bottle over his head.
CCTV footage shows Mr Hounye being kicked mercilessly as he lay crouched in the road.
He was left needing 23 stitches and was scarred for life after the brutal assault.
The gang were identified after CCTV surveillance captured the apparently spontaneous group attack.
According to police, Mr Hounye was assaulted simply because he was ‘obviously not local’ and the attack was not motivated by religion.
Ringleaders Shaleem Uddin and Samad Uddin were jailed for for six years and five and a half years respectively.
Kamrul Hussain was jailed for 27 months and Shahdat Hussain was given 22 months but both are likely to be released imminently after serving the terms while on remand.
Masoom Rahman, who only threw three punches at Mr Hounye, escaped with an 18 month sentence suspended for two years.
‘All of them were willingly involved in that attack, all of them played a part,’ said prosecutor Paul Casey.
‘Two in particular played the most serious role, Shaleem Uddin and Samad Uddin.
‘Shaleem Uddin used the bottle to strike Mr Hounye over the head, causing him severe cuts to the side of his head.
‘Immediately prior to that, Samad Uddin and a number of others were involved trying to wrestle the bottle from Mr Hounye.
‘During the course of the attack Samad Uddin aimed a number of kicks to Mr Hounye whilst he was prone on the ground, including one which CCTV shows his right foot connecting with some force with Mr Hounye’s head.’
Mr Hounye was walking down the New Road, Shadwell, with the friend he was visiting on June 17, 2013.
‘Both of them had been drinking alcohol and Mr Hounye had a bottle of liquor with him -the brand was Jagermeister,’ said Mr Casey.
They were pursued down the road and to the junction with Commercial Road where the gang ‘confronted and surrounded’ Mr Hounye.
In the CCTV footage Samad Uddin can be seen taking hold of Mr Hounye’s shoulder.
The victim was then grabbed from behind by a second male and other members of the gang wrestled the bottle from his clutches.
‘The first punches are thrown at Mr Hounye, the bottle is wrestled from him, Shelim Hussain smashes him over the head with the bottle,’ said Mr Casey.
Samad Uddin is seen kicking Mr Hounye across the road after he broke free and attempted to escape.
But he was pounced on by the mob, the student was punched against the wall.
The gang ran off when a passer-by intervened.
Six months after the attack a demonstration was staged in nearby Brick Lane where around 60 protestors targeted Muslim-owned businesses for selling ‘evil’ alcohol.
Shaleem Uddin and Kamrul Hussain both have previous convictions for assaults in 2010.
Samad Uddin has previous convictions for money laundering and possession of cannabis, while Shahdat Hussain has been before the courts for various offences including common assault and fraud.
Paul Gersch, for Shaleem Uddin, said: ‘He never denied that it was him in the film, the only issue was to what extent he intended injury.
‘Indeed he was shocked when he saw those injuries, injuries he had plainly caused – so shocked he found it hard to believe from the photographs that those injuries had been caused by what he had been involved in.’
He continued: ‘Although of course the bottle is a weapon, he didn’t go out armed.’
Dominick Bell, for Samad Uddin, said: ‘The main injury was the responsibility of Shaleem Uddin, and it may be said that it was Shaleem Uddin that initiated the violence – when setting the starting point for Samad Uddin it should be lower than that for Shaleem Uddin.’
Uddin is currently serving a 32 month sentence for possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and for money laundering, committed on 22 August 2013 – prior to his arrest for this attack.
Ian Stebbings, for Shahdat Hussain, said: ‘He’s been in custody since November 2013 and the experience of custody has been an extremely salutary lesson for this young man.
‘He’s the youngest of the group, and because of his age he was swept along by the group.’
He added: ‘He’s a bright young man, he comes from a family of professionals, both his mother and his father are professional people, he has many qualifications and hopes to go on and apply for medical school.’
‘He sees this incident as a blight, and he assures me that he will never face a court again.
Daniel Robinson, for Kamrul Hussain, said: ‘He understands that his behaviour was absolutely unacceptable and he’s expressed concern for the victim.’
Mr Robinson said Kamrul had acted to support the police during the London riots in 2011, and had ‘worked to minimise disruption and ensure that young people from Tower Hamlets didn’t get involved.’
‘He’s very focused on getting back into work immediately, he wants to work on the Crossrail in railway maintenance.
He added: ‘It’s not so high an aim for your honour to think that it would be something he is incapable of following through with.’
Tom Edwards, for Masoom Rahman, said he was the only one of the five without any previous convictions and is usually a devout Muslim.
He added he was the last on the scene and only threw two punches at the victim.
‘He played very much a subordinate role with this incident and there’s a lack of pre-meditation.
‘He was, prior to this, a man of good character, there are significant points to his good character, specifically the work he has done for the Muslim community – the voluntary work, the community work.
‘This is someone who contributes to his community and not someone who buries his head in the sand and doesn’t really contribute in a positive way to the community.
‘He’s a Muslim man, and I realise that this is something that his religion says he shouldn’t have done, he’s someone who visits his mosque at last weekly and this is someone who will have the support of the community in which he lives.’
Mr Edwards said Rahman has lost his job as a street sweeper with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets since the incident and unable to find employment because of the ongoing case.
Sentencing Judge Alistair Hammerton said: ‘I am quite satisfied that Mr Hounye didn’t proke this incident in any way.
‘This incident had a substantial impact on him, that includes psychological problems and permanent scarring.
‘The aggravating features are that this was a group attack and the offence was committed at night.’
Masoom was given a suspended sentence and also ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to the victim with £800 costs.
The five defendants were supported in court by numerous family members.
Shadat Hussain and Kamrul Hussain smiled in the dock when they learned they will be released after already serving the equivalents of their sentences while on remand.
Samad Uddin, of (flat 48), Noble Court, Cable Street, Shadwell, and Shaleem Uddin, of Fieldgate Mansions, Romford Street, Whitechapel, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Kamrul Hussain, of Clichy House, Stepney Way, Whitechapel and Shadhat Hussain, of Malmesbury Terrace, Canning Town, and Masoom Rahman, of (Greatorex House), Greatorex Street, Whitechapel, east London, admitted a lesser charge of causing grievous bodily harm.
ends
