A man responsible for vandalising 63 vehicles in Stamford Hill has been sentenced to five months imprisonment and ordered to pay over £5,000 in fines.
Huseiyn Seyfi, 27, was jailed last Wednesday for slashing the tyres of vehicles in the predominantly Jewish neighbourhood.
However, a jury at Snaresbrook crown court found him not guilty of committing racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage.
The incident occurred in November 2014, when Seyfi, along with another man, vandalised cars before fleeing the scene.
Seyfi’s car was traced to his home in east London. He was arrested two days later, and pleaded guilty to criminal damage, but denied that the attacks were racially motivated.
While the victims welcomed the conviction, the Jewish community remains concerned about what it still consider to be anti-Semitic attacks.
Barry Bard, coordinator at Shomrim, the Jewish neighbourhood watch that helped catch the criminal, spoke to Hackney Post.
“While the community welcomed his conviction, members believe that the attacks were targeted and anti-Semitic,” he said. “The court obviously needs to be certain beyond reasonable doubt in order to convict, however that doesn’t change the view of many of the victims, who clearly saw it as a targeted and anti-Semitic crime due to the area and specific vehicles that were targeted.”
The case comes at a time when reports of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK have risen by 53 per cent from 2014, according to Jewish charity the Community Security Trust.
Photo by Lauren Daly
