A gang of Muslim men attacked an American student while he was drinking in the street, grabbing his drink and smashing the glass over his head, a court has heard.
The Daily Mail reports that Shaleem Uddin, 20, Shadhat Hussain, 19, Kamrul Hussain, 22, and Massom Rahman, 22, are accused of attacking Francesco Hounye, 23, from Florida as he walked with a friend through Shadwell, east London.
Hounye had been in London just three days when the gang attacked, chased and beat him, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard. CCTV footage shows Hounye being mercilessly attacked as he lay crouched in the road. He suffered severe injuries, including a smashed eye socket.
Another man, Samad Uddin, 24, is on trial for grievous bodily harm. He claims to be the victim of mistaken identity.
Prosecutor Paul Casey said: “This case involves a group attack involving all five of these men on one person, Mr Francesco Hounye.
“The prosecution’s case, in a nutshell, is that he was caused injuries, really serious injuries – grievous bodily harm. All of them were willingly involved in that attack, all of them played a part.
“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.”
Describing the events leading up to the attack, Mr Casey said: “Both of them [Hounye and his friend] had been drinking alcohol and Mr Hounye had a bottle of liquor with him – the brand was Jagermeister.
“They passed a group of young males and this group of young males – principally the five defendants – attempted to speak to the two men.
“The two men perceived their attitude and body language to be threatening and intimidating so they continued on their way.”
“When they reached the junction the two men stopped and they attempted to speak to the men who were following them. The two men were confronted and surrounded.”
After the incident, Mr Hounye was too scared to venture out into London again, and has since returned to Florida.
Samad Uddin denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent; Shaleem Uddin admits grievous bodily harm with intent; Kamrul Hussain , Shahdat Hussain, Masoom Hussain, have admitted causing grievous bodily harm.
The trial continues.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.