Men jailed for attacking rival protesters

Five protesters who attacked a group of counter-demonstrators during a period of civil unrest after the Southport stabbings have been jailed.

Faheem Rehman, Anis Ashfaq, Zain Akbar, Hasan Yousif and Nazam Hussain were part of a group who attacked another group following an English Defence League (EDL) protest in Leeds city centre on 3 August.

The demonstrations took place against a backdrop of "significant fears of violence" after three girls were stabbed in Southport in July, Leeds Crown Court heard.

The five, who had previously admitted affray, were each jailed for 20 months.

His Honour Judge Tom Bayliss KC said anyone involved in such violence "can always expert deterrent sentences".

Prosecutor Robert Galley said the fight started when the two opposing groups clashed on Great George Street as they were leaving the protest from opposite directions.

Mr Galley said there "must have been some comment or some action" from the EDL protesters that triggered the violence at about 16:40 BST.

In his police interview, Rehman, 25, claimed "racist slurs" had been directed towards his group by a group of four men, two of whom were draped in Union flags while a third was wearing a Union flag mask.

In CCTV footage played to the court, Rehman, of Moor Grange View in West Park, could been seen throwing a punch and pushing a man to the ground before kicking at him.

The married father-of-one, who has no previous convictions, then hit another man who Hussain had in a "stranglehold", according to Mr Galley.

Hussain, 24, of Upland Road in Gipton, was also seen throwing an item during the confrontation outside a busy cocktail bar.

Akbar, 22, of Buckingham Avenue in Headingley, could be seen throwing a plastic bottle at a man on the floor while he was being kicked.

The footage also showed Yousif, 26, a full-time carer with no previous convictions, of Belle Vue Road in Woodhouse, kicking a man while he was on the floor, then kicking out at another man on the floor.

Ashfaq, 30, a car garage worker of St Anne's Drive in Burley, was seen kicking a man while he was on the floor.

The men were part of a group of about 17 people leaving the area following a pro-Palestinian demonstration that afternoon, which took place opposite an EDL rally outside Leeds Art Gallery.

Judge Bayliss told the defendants: "It may be that insulting, even racially insulting, words were directed towards you.

"None of that justifies launching a violent attack on those in this smaller other group."

The court heard the victims of the attack did not suffer long-lasting injuries. It came to a halt when a member of the public got out of her car to intervene.

A community impact statement from West Yorkshire Police Assistant Ch Con Pat Twiggs read out at the hearing said the protests took place during a time of "significant fears of violence across the country" following the Southport stabbings on 29 July.

The fatal attack which killed three young girls triggered protests and riots nationwide.

Assistant Ch Con Twiggs said policing the protest in Leeds had cost £821,000 and diverted police resources from elsewhere.

Judge Bayliss said: "Society has always and will always tolerate peaceful political protest, but what society will not and cannot tolerate is intimidation and violence in public."

He told the men they would spend at least eight months of their sentence in prison.

Three other men - Sameer Ali, Adnan Ghafoor and Nadim Hussain - were previously jailed for their part in the fight.

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