Nadine Osman
Two men were jailed on March 14 for a violent attack against foreign citizens at a block of flats in south Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Sam Croskery, 21, from Tullynakill Road in Comber, and 22-year-old Dylan Stuart Waggott of Cambourne Park in Newtownards were part of a three-man masked gang that broke into a flat and attacked three occupants in June 2021.
Croskery was handed a 27-month sentence, while Waggott received a 22-month sentence, Stephen Kerr, 24, from Dunsy Green in Comber, who acted as a driver was handed 60 hours of community service and two years’ probation.
Belfast Crown Court heard that around 1 a.m. on June 2, 2021, a three-man gang entered a flat at Lawrence Street. The masked men walked into the kitchen, started damaging and smashing items, and were heard to shout, ‘You are Muslims; why are you here?’ and ‘go back to your homes.’
One of the men asked the intruders what they wanted, and he was punched in the head and kicked. When another occupant asked why they were there, he was attacked and sustained broken teeth and an injured lip.
The masked gang also attacked the third tenant when came downstairs. During the violent incident, reference was also made to Muslims being child abusers.
The police stopped the getaway car, which was captured on CCTV in east Belfast, at around 1.30 p.m., and all three men were arrested.
Waggott and Croskery entered guilty pleas to three counts of assault, burglary with intent to cause unlawful damage, and attempted intimidation.
Judge Gordon Kerr KC: “For whatever reason, these two defendants decided that one of the persons in the house may have been involved in some criminal activity, and both decided they would become vigilantes.
“That in itself is a factor that is serious. In any case, nobody has the right to try and take the law into their own hands. Having done so, they got someone to drive them over to the house, and they masked themselves.
“Inside the premises, not only did they break property deliberately for its frightening effect, but in addition to that, three persons within the property were assaulted.
“Comments were made to these people inside the premises that were made both to their religion and to their ethnicity.
“Those are serious aggravating features, in my view.”
Judge Kerr then referred to statements provided by the three victims. One said the attack ‘affected him deeply’, a second man spoke of the ‘trauma’ he suffered, and the third victim said his ‘spirit was crushed’ by what happened and has since moved to Scotland.
Judge Kerr said he has considered submissions made by the defendant as well as the “relative youth” of all three at the time of the offence.
Recognising that Kerr did not enter the building, the judge imposed a combination order for charges of aiding and abetting both intimidation and burglary. Claire Hanna, Social Democratic and Labour Party MP for Belfast South said extremists were posting racist bills in her diverse constituency.
“In my diverse and shared Belfast South constituency, we are battling extremism at the moment, in the form of a rash of menacing and racist posters about foreigners and housing,” Hanna told the Commons.
Michael Gove, the UK Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Minister, condemned the attack. “We all deprecate the regrettable incidents of prejudice on the streets of south Belfast,” he said.
Police said they hoped the sentencing “sends out a clear message to anyone who thinks they can get away with this type of crime. We will work tirelessly to bring offenders before the courts so that victims receive the justice they deserve,” the force said.
