Four trustees jailed after St Albans mosque lockdown row leaves victim with three broken ribs
Four men who launched a vicious attack on a worshipper who disagreed with the way they ran their mosque have been jailed for a total of 16 years.
The four trustees of the mosque lured their victim to the religious building in June 2020 by sending him texts and taunting him on social media before launching a serious assault which left him in hospital for two weeks with three broken ribs.
The court heard the worshipper had been complaining on social media about the way the mosque was run and was upset that the trustees had continued to meet in the building despite closing it during the Covid lockdown.
St Albans Crown Court heard the men, who were convicted in December, then tried to cover their tracks by removing CCTV showing the attack and pretending it had been stolen.
Hertfordshire Police said there had been a long-running dispute between worshippers at the Jamie Mosque in Hatfield Road at St Albans.
Det Con Robert Davies said: “In June 2020, tensions escalated when these men made a calculated decision to harm this man. They ganged up on him, physically forcing him into the mosque entrance away from public eyes, or so they thought, and violently and collectively beat him, hitting him with such force that they broke three of his ribs.”
The court heard the 45-year-old victim had recovered from his physical injuries but remains traumatised by what happened.
Mohammed Mortuza, 50, of Alexander Road, London Colney, was sentenced to four years and nine months - four years for grievous bodily harm with intent.
He was also sentenced to nine months, to run consecutively, for perverting the course of justice, after lying to police about the CCTV footage and trying to blame a fellow committee member for luring the victim to the mosque.
Mohammed Anam, 49, of Holyrood Crescent, St Albans, was sentenced to four and a half years – three years for GBH with intent plus a year for perverting the course of justice.
The court heard Anam removed the CCTV and then lied to police telling them it had been stolen. He was also given six months for attempting to intimidate the victim.
Ali Choudhury, 49, of Wilshire Avenue, and Mohammed Choudhury, 67, of Cell Barnes Lane, St Albans, were both sentenced to three years.
A fifth man, Faisal Ahmed, 31, of Gorham Drive, St Albans, was found guilty of inflicting GBH and given a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Judge Michael Roques said the men had previously been of good character.
"You were each upstanding and well-respected members of the Bangladeshi, and the wider community. Not one of you has acknowledged your criminal behaviour. You have brought shame on yourself and your families.”
The judge told them: “You made the decision the mosque should be closed during lockdown - that decision did not find favour with the victim and messages were exchanged.
“That situation was made worse by your ill-advised decision to attend the mosque together when it was not open to other worshippers.
“The victim put his own padlocks on the gates. He had no right to do so.”
St Albans district Safer Neighbourhood Inspector Paul Caro added: “We work closely with the community in St Albans to ensure the city is safe for everyone to live, work and worship in peace and safety. We will not tolerate violence or those who seek to hinder justice.
“The actions of these men were shocking and we would like to thank the wider mosque community for their support and cooperation throughout this investigation. We continue to work closely with them and I hope these convictions and sentences bring a sense of closure and peace to the Jamie Mosque community.”
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