Racist attack on Zahid Ali in Hereford's Commercial Street part of ‘worrying trend’

Zahid Ali was walking with his girlfriend along Commercial Street when he was punched several times in the face and stomach by Jonathan James Evans.

Last week’s court case was the third time this month that city magistrates have been told about ethnic minorities being racially abused in Hereford.

Chris Chappell, a county councillor, said the cases amounted to a “worrying trend” in which racism was almost becoming acceptable within certain communities.

Mr Ali, the court heard, moved to Hereford from Birmingham two months prior to the attack after finding work in the city.

Clare Linehan, prosecuting, said Mr Ali was with his partner at 11pm on July 17 when four men walked past.

“Evans walked up to them and said ‘there is no mosque here, go and pray to the bull,” added Ms Linehan.

“Ali tried to walk away and told the defendant to leave him alone who continued stating ‘it’s not your country’.

“Evans’ friends told him to leave it and held him back but he continued stating ‘I’m British and got a British passport’.”

Magistrates heard Evans, of Quicksetts, Redhill, Hereford, then punched Mr Ali.

Mrs Linehan added: “The victim’s girlfriend asked passersby for help at which point Evans made prayer actions and said he was ‘sticking up for British people’.”

Nearby door staff attended the scene and Evans ran off before being arrested shortly afterwards.

Magistrates, who later found Evans guilty after trial in his absence of two charges of racially aggravated common assault, was told Mr Ali initially thought Hereford was “a friendly place”.

“I hadn’t experienced a problem with anybody,” he said. “The incident has affected how I feel about Hereford and has really knocked my confidence. I’m frightened to go out alone and don’t at night.

“The incident was really unpleasant with injuries to my lip and pain in my jaw.

What is worse is that it was racially motivated that affected me most and there was no reason apart from my ethnic background.

“My partner is unsure whether she wants to move here now because of the incident so it has had a profound effect.”

In interview Evans, a 28-year-old painter and decorator, said he had drunk six or seven pints along with shots. He remembered having an argument with a male but didn’t remember making the comments.

Chris Morgan, defending, said that the trial had slipped Evans’ mind and there was nothing he could say to defend his client.

Magistrates ordered for the case to be adjourned for two weeks for an ‘all options’ report’ and told Evans that a prison sentence was ‘probably appropriate’.

He was released on conditional bail with the restrictions not to contact the victims, not to be drunk in public and to cooperate with the probation service.

Last week, the Hereford Times reported on a carer being racially abused by a man who later told city police he wanted to join the Ku Klux Klan.

That story had followed an earlier report regarding a soldier who made a racist remark while refusing to pay for a taxi journey to Lower Bullingham, Hereford.

• THE Hereford Times has spoken to a number of parties working to combat prejudice to get their views on the recent racist attacks and to explain the help and support available to victims of hate crime. Here are their comments.

Chris Chappell, Councillor for Hinton & Hunderton “I’m very sad to hear there are still racists around.

It is appalling but it doesn’t surprise me as at all as I hear some awful things every day during conversations in pubs and clubs saying things about foreigners.

It’s interesting the reason for them being racist and attacking people from different faiths and religions.

They need to know that the Christian community are all in favour of Muslims having their own mosque and will do everything to ensure they can practice their own faith.

We need a cosmopolitan Hereford and when we have the university we will learn to be a lot more tolerant.”

Adrian Symonds, West Mercia Police Equality and Diversity advisor for Worcestershire and Herefordshire “These attacks are all subjective for the person.

If they believe they have been targeted racially, then they have from our point of view.

Reporting rates are going up slightly as we’re getting more people to report these crimes rather than more incidents.

Low level crimes are sometimes dealt with by community support officers but if it is aggravated by hate they are always dealt with by a police officers.

Any type of hate crime is taken really seriously by us.”

Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) CEO Shazad Amin “All hate crime is reprehensible and the impact on victims endures beyond the incident itself.

The volume of hate crimes which consist of public order offences (verbal abuse) and attacks on individuals employed in the night time economy, such as taxi drivers, shows that we are failing to protect some of the most vulnerable groups.

Reporting hate crime to the police is a vital step to prosecuting offenders but we need far more to be done on preventative measures.

“We cannot support victims by prosecuting hate crimes alone, we also need to tackle the environment in which anti Muslim hatred festers.”

Jabeer Butt, OBE Deputy Chief Executive, Race Equality Foundation “Zahid Ali’s experience of racist abuse is shocking, but perhaps not surprising.

Official figures suggest that there has been a rise in hate crimes in general and racially motivated offences in particular.

Prosecuting those who commit such crimes is one solution, but everyone must commit to challenging such behaviour, if we are to see real progress.”

West Mercia Police spokesman, Samuel Cook said: “We know that on a national level hate crime is underreported and we are committed to giving victims the confidence to come forward; we will investigate and we will offer support."

Hate crimes can be reported in the following ways:

• In an emergency dial 999
• For non-emergencies dial 101
• Report online to True Vision at www.report-it.org.uk
• Call into a police station or stop an officer in the street
• Call Victim Support on 01905 726885