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AN
Iraqi Kurd has been jailed for 12 years for his part
in a gang attack which sent shockwaves through a
West Yorkshire town and left a rugby player
seriously injured.
Mohsen Sadiq was one of a group of Iraqis who
attacked a group of white pub-goers with sticks and
knives one Sunday afternoon in October 2003.
He was yesterday convicted of causing grievous
bodily harm with intent to talented amateur rugby
league player Lee Massey, by running him down in a
Honda Civic car.
The motive for the attack was thought to be revenge
following an earlier altercation and some derogatory
comments made by an Iraqi to a local woman.
The violence outside the Royal pub, in Ravensthorpe,
Dewsbury, left two men with serious stab wounds, and
Mr Massey suffered serious head and leg injuries.
Locals reacted furiously to the attack and the
victims' friends – including white and Asian
residents – collected a 1,000-name petition calling
on the authorities to stop sending asylum seekers to
the town.
Yesterday there was relief and joy from Mr Massey's
family when Sadiq, 29, of Brook Gardens, Dewsbury,
was convicted.
Sadiq, who denied the offence, was the only person
convicted following a massive police investigation
and two trials, estimated to have cost the taxpayer
around £5m. Nine other Iraqi Kurds were cleared of
any involvement, during the course of a 40-day
trial.
Judge Alistair McCallum, jailing Sadiq for 12 years,
labelled him "callous and wicked" for a crime "as
close to attempted murder as one could come".
The judge told him: "You intended to cause Lee
Massey really serious injuries and you certainly
achieved your goal. Out of respect for his relatives
I shall not catalogue his appaling injuries... but
you have totally ruined his future, permanently
leaving him completely incapable of enjoying a
normal life, and destroying his marriage."
Judge McCallum said Sadiq's response on being told
of Mr Massey's injuries – "that's his problem" –
showed a "lack of humanity I have not encountered in
the many people who have come before me." He said:
"I wish I could pass a higher sentence for this
heinous crime but I am bound by precedent." Sadiq,
who was granted temporary permission to stay in the
UK after his asylum claim was rejected, may be
deported back to Iraq on his release from jail.
After sentence was passed, Mr Massey's mother,
Margaret, said that her faith in the justice system
had collapsed during the earlier trial but Sadiq's
conviction had partially restored it.
She said: "I'm delighted at the outcome. We thought
he was going to get off. We have got justice for Lee
– I'm just sorry that (stabbing victims) Darren and
Danny Lee did not get justice."
Mrs Massey said her son still faced more operations
on his knee and eye and was a changed man since the
attack. "Before, he was happy-go-lucky, he loved his
work as a HGV driver. He was a fantastic rugby
player – he can't play rugby again, he can't work
again. He's very angry and frustrated with his
injuries. He can't speak properly but he has taught
himself to walk again. He has good days and bad
days."
She said she still feels let down by the justice
system, but praised the police.
The detective who led the investigation, Det Supt
Allan Doherty, said he was delighted at Sadiq's
conviction. He said: "I am very happy with the
sentence Sadiq has been given, which reflects the
severity of the crime he has been convicted of. The
investigation was always focused on arresting and
convicting Sadiq, as he was the man responsible for
committing the most serious offence on the night in
question. Whilst all the other events that evening
were also serious, it was the injuries suffered by
Lee Massey that drove the enquiry and made us
determined to convict the person responsible."
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk
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