A trustee of a St Albans mosque who attacked a worshipper following a row over lockdown procedures has evaded a prison sentence.
Intaz Ali, 53, of Maynard Drive, St Albans, was part of a group from the Jamie Masjid and Bangladeshi Mosque in Hatfield Road who attacked the 48-year-old victim on June 4, 2020, resulting in three broken ribs and a two-week stay in hospital.
Legal complications meant Ali appeared separately to the other trustees, and he subsequently pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm (GBH) in January 2023.
St Albans Crown Court heard how a row had broken out between the trustees and a worshipper because they continued to use the mosque during lockdown.
The victim had used social media to try and undermine their positions and carried out a campaign of locking the mosque gates, which culminated in him being lured to the site at night, where he was seriously assaulted by the group.
Judge Michael Roques said their behaviour had been “abhorrent and extraordinary” and described the defendant as a man of previous good character who had been considered an upstanding and well-respected member of the community.
He passed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered Ali to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid community work.
The other trustees involved in the assault were sentenced in March 2023 following a seven-week trial, with four of them going to prison.
Mohammed Anam, 49, of Holyrood Crescent, St Albans, was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Mohammed Mortuza, 50, of Alexander Road, London Colney, was jailed for four years and nine months.
Ali Choudhury, 49, of Wilshire Avenue, St Albans, was jailed for three years.
Mohammed Choudhury, 67, of Cell Barnes Lane, St Albans, was sentenced to three years in prison.
Mohammed Choudhury and Mohammed Anam were also found guilty of perverting the course of justice on June 5, 2020, after removing CCTV before it could be accessed by police.
Mortuza pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice by encouraging a co-defendant to lie to police and Anam was also found guilty of attempted victim intimidation after encountering the victim in Morrisons car park in St Albans.
A fifth defendant, Faisal Ahmed, 31, of Gorham Drive in St Albans, was found guilty of inflicting GBH and was given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months.
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