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Jury told Finsbury Park van attack was 'horrific attack on Muslims' Jury told Finsbury Park van attack was 'horrific attack on Muslims'
(35 minutes later)
Witnesses in trial of man accused of June attack say vehicle revved up before hitting pedestriansWitnesses in trial of man accused of June attack say vehicle revved up before hitting pedestrians
Kevin RawlinsonKevin Rawlinson
Wed 24 Jan 2018 12.35 GMTWed 24 Jan 2018 12.35 GMT
Last modified on Wed 24 Jan 2018 13.42 GMT
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Witnesses in the trial of a man accused of carrying out a van attack on Muslims in Finsbury Park last year have described the vehicle revving up and ploughing into a group of people.Witnesses in the trial of a man accused of carrying out a van attack on Muslims in Finsbury Park last year have described the vehicle revving up and ploughing into a group of people.
The jury at Woolwich crown court was told the incident was a “horrific attack on Muslims” as they heard evidence from a number of people who were in the area – some of whom said they were hit by a white van. Jurors at Woolwich crown court were told the incident was a “horrific attack on Muslims”, as they heard evidence from alleged victims of the attack.
“As the van drove into the road, I could hear the engine revving ... The van just ploughed the people,” according to Mahad Mohamed Ismail, whose witness statement was read to the jury on Wednesday. “As the van drove into the road, I could hear the engine revving … The van just ploughed the people,” said Mahad Mohamed Ismail in a witness statement read to the jury on Wednesday.
He estimated the vehicle reached 20mph before hitting pedestrians. “There were people underneath the van ... It was revving like the driver had his foot flat down on the accelerator,” he said. He estimated that the vehicle reached 20mph before hitting pedestrians. “There were people underneath the van … It was revving like the driver had his foot flat down on the accelerator,” he said.
Ismail told the jury that since the attack, he had been traumatised and had been having nightmares. “I am paranoid when I go out and hear a van revving. I witnessed a horrific attack on Muslims. I feared for my life when that van was coming towards me. Words cannot describe how I felt,” he said. Ismail told the jury that since the attack, he had been having nightmares. “I am paranoid when I go out and hear a van revving. I witnessed a horrific attack on Muslims. I feared for my life when that van was coming towards me. Words cannot describe how I felt,” he said.
Another witness, Mohammed Geedi, said he was on his way to a nearby mosque when the incident happened on 19 June.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, he told the jury he could see the van’s headlights and was aware of it accelerating and shifting up from first gear to second. He said he was knocked to the ground. “I looked at a lot of people splattered all over the place,” Geedi said.
After the incident, he said he helped a group of people restrain the man they believed to be the driver.
Darren Osborne, 48, denies one charge of murdering Makram Ali and another of attempting to murder other people during the incident in north London.Darren Osborne, 48, denies one charge of murdering Makram Ali and another of attempting to murder other people during the incident in north London.
Geedi told the jury he saw Ali, who had collapsed shortly before the incident, speaking before the van struck. “He was alive, he looked alive,” he told the jury. Immediately after the impact, he said he saw tyre marks across Ali’s body and said the man’s “tongue was sticking out”. During Wednesday’s hearing, witnesses described seeing Ali collapse and a group of people gather to help him, shortly before a white van hit them. The driver tried to escape but was apprehended by people nearby, the jury heard witnesses testify.
A statement was read to the court from Waleed Salim, who said he and his cousin, Hamdi Alfaiq, had been hit by a van. “I helped a group of people trying to lift the van but it was really heavy, so they had to drag my cousin out. I heard the voice of the Muslim imam telling people not to hurt the driver and to leave him for the police.”
Giving evidence in person, Alfaiq said he did not remember being under the vehicle.
The court heard an audio recording of a 999 call by Adnan Mohamud, who initially asked for an ambulance for a man who had collapsed. A lengthy pause followed, before Mohamud returned and told the call handler: “Someone’s just come and run over a whole lot of people. He ran over a lot of people. A lot of people are dying. He has just run over everyone … people are dying, man.”
In a witness statement read to the court, he said: “I remember [the driver] saying: ‘I have done my job. You can kill me now.’ He was smiling as he said it.” Mohamud said the smile on the driver’s face had convinced him the incident was no accident.
Another witness, Mohammed Geedi, said he had been on his way to a nearby mosque when the incident happened on 19 June. Giving evidence on Wednesday, he told the jury he could see the van’s headlights and was aware of it accelerating and shifting up from first gear to second.
He said he was knocked to the ground. “I looked at a lot of people splattered all over the place.” After the incident, he said, he helped a group of people restrain the man they believed to be the driver.
Geedi told the jury he had seen Ali speaking before the van struck. “He was alive. He looked alive,” he told the jury. Immediately after the impact, he said, he saw tyre marks across Ali’s body and said the man’s “tongue was sticking out”.
The trial continues.The trial continues.
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