Man charged over making racial slurs against Muslim family insists he was the one ‘under attack’
An Illawarra man charged over unleashing a anti-Islamic attack on a Muslim attack has broken down in court as he denied the allegations.
Illawarra Star
Don't miss out on the headlines from Illawarra Star. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Council’s major plans to transform Wollongong’s CBD
- Teens deny attacking dad after Snapchat videos go viral
A man accused of unleashing an unprovoked, foul-mouthed racial attack on a Muslim family enjoying a picnic last year has told a court he was the one under attack, and that he thought he was “going to be killed”.
Sharaf Deen Yusuf took the stand during the second day of a hearing at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday, where he broke down in tears and denied he threatened to kill a group of men before doing burnouts around them.
The 43-year-old has been in custody since he was arrested on April 7 last year, after he allegedly subjected a family of 20 people to a tirade of verbal abuse at the Bulli Tops lookout.
According to police, Yusuf – an Australian citizen of Nigerian background – yelled “F**k the Muslims. You’re dead. I’ll f***ing kill you” towards the family before using his car to do burnouts around them, and was subsequently charged with intimidation, driving in a dangerous manner, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Two of the men involved in the altercation, Daniel Massri and Mohammed Jbara, gave evidence to the court on Wednesday, telling Magistrate Susan McGowan they feared for the safety of their families at the time, and that it had left some of them with “scars for life”.
Mr Massri and Mr Jbara told the court that when they arrived at Bulli Tops, they noticed Yusuf taking pictures of their cars.
Wondering whether he was a council ranger, Mr Massri said his father-in-law approached Yusuf to ask what he was doing.
“He wouldn’t respond so he touched him on the shoulder … maybe thinking he couldn’t hear,” he said. “Then (Yusuf) turned around and said ‘don’t touch me, I’ll f***ng kill you Muslims … I’m the king here’.”
Mr Massri and Ms Jbara said Yusuf then ran to his car, and reached inside, where they told the court he tried to grab something “that looked like a hammer or axe”.
“The handle was sticking out of a bag,” Mr Jbara said.
“It looked like an axe”.
The two men and their father-in-law told the court they tried to detain him in the car until police arrived, and picked up sticks to defend themselves.
It was alleged that Yusuf took off in the car, driving “circles” on the grass just metres from the picnic area. Mr Massri said he returned less than five minutes later, asking for his phone, which he believed had fallen out at some point during the alleged incident.
When he took the stand, Yusuf denied all of the allegations, saying he was the victim, and that he’d never use racial slurs against them as he too was a Muslim.
In giving his version of events, Yusuf admitted to taking photos of the cars, because the family had been “parking aggressively” in the carpark. Mr Yusuf told the court he had been living in his car at the carpark for 9-10 weeks and that he was concerned by their driving when they arrived.
He went on to say that the three men “grabbed him” and that he was fearful so tried to walk away.
“I am living in this country by myself … I’m dealing with these men … all I wanted to do was drive away,” he said.
Yusuf denied ever swearing at, or threatening the men, and said he did not have a weapon in his car.
“I live in my car, I had bags with food, pots, pans,” he said. “No weapon”.
Yusuf went on to tell the court the three men “attacked” him with sticks, demanding Magistrate McGowan look at “scars” they left on his head, and that he was trying to get in his car and leave because he was “very scared … and because I thought I would get hurt or be killed.”
He also denied doing burnouts on the grass, saying he simply performed a U-turn to leave the picnic area. He did, however, admit to returning some minutes later for his phone.
In making her closing submissions, police prosecutor Sergeant Coby Davis told the court that all witness accounts were consistent and that Yusuf’s alleged actions were “designed to intimidate”.
However, his defence lawyer Muhammad Badarne said Mr Massri and Mr Jbara should be the ones charged, and that his client was the one under attack.
“He was the one being attacked and the one trying to escape,” he said.
“The people who got the phone, who chased him, who hit him, should be charged … there is room for charges there.”
Magistrate McGowan will hand down her decision on Friday.