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Man jailed for life after running over Muslim woman in Leicester Man jailed for life after running over Muslim woman in Leicester
(about 1 hour later)
A man has been jailed for life after running over a Muslim woman in Leicester as “revenge” for terrorist attacks in London. A man has been jailed for life for ramming his car into one woman and trying to hit a schoolgirl in a series of Islamophobic hate crimes he intended as a retaliation for terror attacks carried out by Islamist extremists in the UK.
Paul Moore attempted to kill Zaynab Hussein with his Volkswagen Up on 20 September. Hussein, 47, was struck once in Acer Close and then driven over again moments later as 21-year-old Moore, who had told a relative he intended to target Muslims, was seen laughing. Paul Moore had shown no remorse over the attacks, the judge said, as he sentenced him to a 20-year minimum term for attempted murder, attempted grievous bodily harm with intent and dangerous driving at Nottingham crown court on Tuesday.
He then tried to hit a 12-year-old girl with his car moments later on Butterwick Drive. The court heard Moore had said he was “doing the country a favour”. Zaynab Hussein, 47, suffered serious fractures to her leg, arm, pelvis and spine during the assault, in which Moore drove a car on to the pavement and hit her from behind, before turning it around and driving over her again.
Moore, of Western Park in Leicester, was convicted by a jury on 2 March of attempted murder, attempted grievous bodily harm with intent and dangerous driving. Shortly afterwards, he drove the car at his second victim, a 12-year-old Muslim girl walking to school, knocking her school bag out of her hand.
In front of a packed public gallery on Tuesday, Moore, flanked by four dock officers, looked up at the ceiling as the sentence was passed. Both were targeted because they were wearing Islamic clothing, the judge said.
The defendant was supported by four family members, two of whom left the court as he was handed a 20-year minimum jail term and a lifelong disqualification from driving. The court also heard that, after the incident, the 21-year-old from Leicester told friends the attacks were in retaliation for terror attacks in the UK. He also told a relative he intended to target Muslims and was seen laughing during the attack. In carrying it out, Moore saw himself as doing “the country a favour”, the court heard.
Mr Justice Soole told Moore in Nottingham crown court: “The courage of your victims, and the compassion and courage of all those who came to the aid of Mrs Hussein in different ways – and who notably come from across the diverse range of this local community – stand in stark contrast to your wickedness that morning. “The courage of your victims, and the compassion and courage of all those who came to the aid of Mrs Hussein in different ways – and who notably come from across the diverse range of this local community – stand in stark contrast to your wickedness that morning,” Mr Justice Soole told Moore on Tuesday.
“All pedestrians were at risk from you that morning. However, the fact remains that you ultimately launched your assault on those who were in Islamic clothing.“All pedestrians were at risk from you that morning. However, the fact remains that you ultimately launched your assault on those who were in Islamic clothing.
“Your intention to kill Mrs Hussein was underlined by your wicked decision to return for a second assault with the car. It was only luck and her quick thinking that saved your second intended victim from injury.“Your intention to kill Mrs Hussein was underlined by your wicked decision to return for a second assault with the car. It was only luck and her quick thinking that saved your second intended victim from injury.
“In circumstances where you have shown no remorse and where there is reason to believe that you may have taken satisfaction from what you did, the alternatives of an ordinary determinate sentence or an extended determinate sentence would provide inadequate protection to the public.” Days before Moore’s attack last September, Ahmed Hassan had planted a bomb on a tube train at Parsons Green station, in west London – a fact that was “no coincidence”, the prosecutor Jonathan Straw told Moore’s trial.
In Hussein’s victim impact statement, read to the court by Jonathan Straw, prosecuting, the Somali national said she has been incapacitated since the incident. “Paul Moore’s actions were undoubtedly fuelled by his hatred of Muslims and the intent to kill his first victim was clear,” said Janine Smith, of the Crown Prosecution Service, after the sentence was passed.
The statement read: “I have limited mobility. I can only get to the toilet with the assistance of a walking frame. I feel I have lost my independence. It is not something I am used to and I do not want to be dependent on others. “Moore had expressed a desire to run someone over and the evidence was clear that his motivation for attacking these victims was hostility towards their ethnicity and perceived religion. We are clear that this was a hate crime and invited the judge to uplift and increase the sentence. He therefore placed this in the highest possible sentencing bracket.”
“This is really upsetting and hurtful – it is affecting my happiness. My younger children come into the room and ask: ‘When are you going to start walking again?’ In a victim impact statement, Hussein said she has been bed-bound since the incident. “I don’t understand why someone would want to hurt me – especially somebody I have never met.”
“I physically cannot go outside, but even if I wanted to I wouldn’t. I don’t understand why someone would want to hurt me, especially somebody I have never met.”
Steve Newcombe, defending Moore, said: “There is nothing in his background to suggest he has held a grudge against Muslims and people of any other faith.”
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