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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Three men guilty over assault on Kurdish-Iranian student in Croydon | Three men guilty over assault on Kurdish-Iranian student in Croydon |
| (1 day later) | |
| Jury finds three guilty of violent disorder after brawl in south London left 17-year-old with life-changing injuries | |
| Press Association | |
| Thu 9 Nov 2017 16.44 GMT | |
| First published on Thu 9 Nov 2017 16.22 GMT | |
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| Three men have been found guilty of taking part in a violent brawl that left a Kurdish-Iranian student with life-changing injuries. | Three men have been found guilty of taking part in a violent brawl that left a Kurdish-Iranian student with life-changing injuries. |
| Reker Ahmed, 17, suffered a fractured spine, a bleed on the brain and facial fractures after the incident in Croydon, south London, shortly after midnight on 31 March. | Reker Ahmed, 17, suffered a fractured spine, a bleed on the brain and facial fractures after the incident in Croydon, south London, shortly after midnight on 31 March. |
| Reker was subjected to two beatings over the course of 16 minutes, when he and two friends got caught up in the fight. | Reker was subjected to two beatings over the course of 16 minutes, when he and two friends got caught up in the fight. |
| On Thursday George Walder, 23, and Lliam Neylon, 19, both from Croydon, were each convicted of two counts of violent disorder for their involvement in the brawl. | On Thursday George Walder, 23, and Lliam Neylon, 19, both from Croydon, were each convicted of two counts of violent disorder for their involvement in the brawl. |
| Kurt Killick, 18, also of Croydon, was convicted of two counts of violent disorder but acquitted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after 19 hours and 19 minutes of deliberations. | Kurt Killick, 18, also of Croydon, was convicted of two counts of violent disorder but acquitted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after 19 hours and 19 minutes of deliberations. |
| Three other defendants – Daryl Davis, 21, and his sister Danyelle Davis, 24, and Kyran Evans, 24 – were acquitted of two counts of violent disorder. | Three other defendants – Daryl Davis, 21, and his sister Danyelle Davis, 24, and Kyran Evans, 24 – were acquitted of two counts of violent disorder. |
| A seventh defendant, James Neves, 23, of Beckenham, south London, pleaded guilty to a single charge of violent disorder ahead of trial. He will be sentenced with Killick, Walder and Neylon on a date yet to be set. | A seventh defendant, James Neves, 23, of Beckenham, south London, pleaded guilty to a single charge of violent disorder ahead of trial. He will be sentenced with Killick, Walder and Neylon on a date yet to be set. |
| During the trial, the jury heard that one of the attackers yelled: “You are asylum seekers, you are refugees, you have to go back to your country” at Reker and his friends when they told him they were from Iraq and Iran. | During the trial, the jury heard that one of the attackers yelled: “You are asylum seekers, you are refugees, you have to go back to your country” at Reker and his friends when they told him they were from Iraq and Iran. |
| The subsequent fight was so violent that a passerby pleaded: “Stop. You’re killing him.” | The subsequent fight was so violent that a passerby pleaded: “Stop. You’re killing him.” |
| Reker was allegedly stamped on during the assault in what was described by the prosecution as a “disgraceful episode of violence and thuggery”. | Reker was allegedly stamped on during the assault in what was described by the prosecution as a “disgraceful episode of violence and thuggery”. |
| Jurors heard that at one point during the incident as many as eight people at once were attacking Reker, who had become separated from his two friends, according to witnesses. | Jurors heard that at one point during the incident as many as eight people at once were attacking Reker, who had become separated from his two friends, according to witnesses. |
| The victim was not called to give evidence, because when he awoke in hospital he remembered nothing of what happened. He and his friends, Hamo Mustafa and Dilshad Mohammed, had been chatting to people in the Goat pub on Broom Road before the incident. | The victim was not called to give evidence, because when he awoke in hospital he remembered nothing of what happened. He and his friends, Hamo Mustafa and Dilshad Mohammed, had been chatting to people in the Goat pub on Broom Road before the incident. |
| Mustafa said they had been speaking to a group of five people near the pub when they were asked by one of the men where they were from. The group started the fight as soon as they knew they were from Iran and Iraq, he said. | Mustafa said they had been speaking to a group of five people near the pub when they were asked by one of the men where they were from. The group started the fight as soon as they knew they were from Iran and Iraq, he said. |
| The defendants were all identified via CCTV footage of the group running after Reker towards Shrublands Avenue. | The defendants were all identified via CCTV footage of the group running after Reker towards Shrublands Avenue. |
| During the six-week trial, Jeremy Wainwright, defence counsel for Killick, warned the jury not to assume people were involved in the violence simply because they were present, or even if they appeared to run in the direction of Reker. | During the six-week trial, Jeremy Wainwright, defence counsel for Killick, warned the jury not to assume people were involved in the violence simply because they were present, or even if they appeared to run in the direction of Reker. |
| He told the jury: “There is a common sense reason for saying there is a difference between chasing after somebody to cause them harm and following your friends down the road to see what’s happening.” | He told the jury: “There is a common sense reason for saying there is a difference between chasing after somebody to cause them harm and following your friends down the road to see what’s happening.” |
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