Man accused of racial attack on Muslim family pleads not guilty

A Muslim man accused of unleashing an unprovoked, foul-mouthed racial attack on a Muslim family earlier this month has pleaded not guilty to his offences.

Sharaf-Deen Yusuf appeared at Wollongong Local Court via audiovisual link on Tuesday. Picture: Steven Bell

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A man accused of unleashing an unprovoked, foul-mouthed racial attack on a Muslim family earlier this month has pleaded not guilty to his offences.

Sharaf-Deen Yusuf, 43, appeared at Wollongong Local Court via audiovisual link in front of Magistrate Susan McGowan on Tuesday, April 23.

He was represented by Legal Aid, despite previously claiming Legal Aid discriminated against him and “did not represent him properly” because he was a “black man”.

In the brief appearance, Yusuf plead not guilty to the charges of intimidation and driving in a dangerous manner.

Despite the fact he is a Muslim himself, Yusuf is accused of harassing a group of 20 family members at Bulli Tops on April 7, screaming anti-Islamic remarks at them.

According to police facts, the accused began taking photos of the victims’ cars when they arrived at the Bulli Tops picnic area for a lunch with family.

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One of the victims approached the man to ask what he was doing, and when he didn’t respond the victim tugged lightly on Yusuf’s shirt, thinking he may be deaf.

Police allege Yusuf then yelled “Don’t f*cking touch me, I’ll f*cking kill you. You’ll be dead.”

Two of the victims’ family members approached when they heard Yusuf screaming. As they approached, Yusuf is alleged to have started screaming again, saying “F*ck the Muslims. You’re dead. I’ll f*cking kill you”.

Yusuf then jumped into his vehicle, where he allegedly drove around in a circle three times “very fast”, yelling “F*ck the Muslims. I’m going to kill you” repeatedly.

Police say members of the family were within two metres of the car and “due to the wet, muddy conditions of the grass and the speed he was driving, the accused could have lost control of the vehicle and driven into the victim or any of the children nearby”.

Yusuf allegedly drove off but returned about five minutes later, driving “a number of laps” past the family before being stopped by police.

In his appearance on Tuesday, Yusuf also received a court attendance notice, after police allegedly found him in possession of 1.91 grams of cannabis on February 22.

His case was adjourned to June 4.