Spitting racist thugs 'violated, degraded and dehumanised' woman caught in middle of Piccadilly Gardens 'protest'

A woman was subjected to vile racist abuse before being spat on during the ‘protests’ in Manchester last month.

Thomas Richard, 56, was one of a large group who gathered in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3. Footage played to Manchester Crown Court, showed how the group encircled three young women who were wearing hijabs and headscarves before hurling Islamophobic abuse at them.

During the disorder a number of males, including Richard, can be seen spitting towards them. One of the women, who had been out shopping in the city centre, was spat on by another man, with the spit landing on her face.

READ MORE: Teenage couple on their first date amongst those violently robbed by masked up group

The ‘protest’ arose after false information about the identity and background of the man accused of killing three children in Southport was spread online.

Earlier pleading guilty to violent disorder, today (September 24) Richard, of Miles Platting, was jailed.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, the woman said: “I am very much appalled and disgraced at the behaviour of the far-right EDL members towards myself. The assault was completely unprovoked as I was just watching from a sensible distance and do not feel under any circumstances I deserved what had happened to me.

“Being spat on is a despicable act that made me feel extremely violated, degraded and dehumanised. I felt scared and worried for my safety (and others) in that moment and I still do.

“As a result of this assault I am now terrified to leave my own home because of these people and what happened to me.”

The court heard that the 22-year-old who describes herself as a white British woman, wearing a hijab and a keffiyeh scarf, representing Palestine, was observing the large group and police in Piccadilly Gardens during the afternoon.

“Seeing that the group were becoming more violent, and the police were trying to disperse them in a different direction, she tried to go across Piccadilly Gardens,” prosecutor Kate Gaskell said.

“She heard shouts of “Stop the boats” AND “Go back home”, as well as comments about her God, Allah, and religion. She said ‘I could feel how hateful those words were, especially as I was there on my own without anyone I knew’.

“She was confronted by one member who said, ‘What are you doing here, can’t you see you are antagonising us’. She informed him she was simply watching. In retrospect she thought perhaps she should have left but she didn’t want to let them win, and it was a public place.”

The court heard that the situation escalated quickly, during which time two Muslim girls in headscarves came to join her. They were quickly surrounded by a large group of individuals chanting “Go back home.”

The woman told them to leave the two girls alone, at which point the insults were directed at her, and a large number began filming her. They commented that she had been brainwashed, and asked whether she had been married when she was 6 years old, it was said.

The crowd became more aggressive and started shouting ‘Get that terrorist flag off her’ pulling her Keffiyeh scarf before several Muslim males came to assist her.

“Before she had a chance to move, she felt spit land on her right cheek,” Ms Gaskell added.

In footage obtained by the police, Richard could be seen chanting and pointing his fingers in a gun gesture at the three girls, shouting: ‘F*** off home.”

“He was aggressively shouting and spat in the direction of the three girls, though he was not responsible for the spit that landed on the victim,” the prosecutor said.

“The defendant continued shouting ‘F*** off home’ and then ‘F*** off to Palestine’. One of the photojournalists present further heard him say something to the effect of ‘Take the burkas’ and ‘We want our country back’.

Damien Zelazowski, mitigating, conceded that the three young women were ‘targeted’ by the group for some time, and were ‘pursued’ when they were under police protection.

On the day in question, he said: “He was passing through on his way to St Anne’s Square to go to the footbank. He saw the protests and became involved in the incident thinking it would be more peaceful than it was.

“But he didn’t move away and he became more involved. He does offer his apologies, he is ashamed of what took place. He became emboldened by the crown and, to use his wording, swept up.”

Sentencing Richard, who has 55 previous convictions for 141 offences, Judge Patrick Field KC said the ‘protest’ had the appearance of people ‘venting ill informed and ignorant prejudices’.

“They were racist, ill informed and Islamophobia chanting and vile abuse towards her. Her calm defiance in the fact of what was being said to her was frankly admirable and humbling,” he said.

“She stood up for herself and her beliefs in the face of the nasty, ill educated and intolerant comments. She said she felt dehumanised by what happened to her - she demonstrated more humanity than many others present.

“You were threatening and deliberately insulting her not because you took a personal dislike to her, but simply because of her Muslim faith.”

Richard, of Kingsland Close, Miles Platting, was jailed for 20 months. He was also banned from entering a certain area in Manchester city centre for three years under the terms of a criminal behaviour order.