A week after two Muslim women were attacked in a shopping centre in Melbourne, the perpetrator has been charged with the allegedly Islamophobic attacks.
The 31-year old attacker faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court yesterday accused of assaulting 26-year-old Ealaf Al-Easawi and 30-year-old Kawthar Ali inside a shopping complex in Melbourne’s northern suburb of Epping last Thursday, causing non-life-threatening injuries.
Victoria police have charged the woman from Pascoe Vale with intentionally and recklessly causing injury, unlawful assault and aggravated assault.
Al-Easawi said she was shopping for groceries when she was allegedly attacked, and remains terrified to go out.
“I feel terrified, traumatised and still can’t believe what happened to me,” she said. “The scene won’t come out of my head. It keeps repeating itself in my mind.”
Al-Easawi added that she was having difficulty sleeping due to her injuries, which include bruises and back pain.
The other victim, Kawthar Ali, who is over 26 weeks pregnant, told the ABC that she was having lunch with a friend when she was attacked from behind and choked using her own hijab.
Both victims were taken to Northern Hospital after the incidents, where Ali was given a neck brace, and treated for injuries to her knee. Fortunately, her baby remains healthy. Like Al-Easawi, Ali has said she has become too afraid to leave her house.
Police will allege the victims were targeted due to their wearing of head coverings.
Investigators are also continuing to look into a report of online threats being made against one of the victims.
“There is absolutely no place in our society for discriminatory, racist, or hate-based behaviour and such activity will not be tolerated,” Victoria Police said in a statement to the media.
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) released a statement this week, vehemently condemning “the heinous and barbaric attacks”, and calling on Victorian police to “Conduct a transparent investigation into the mishandling of these cases, provide comprehensive training for all officers to adequately address hate crimes and ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“We demand justice for the victims and assert that no act of hate should be minimised or ignored,” the statement said. “It is imperative to ensure the safety and dignity of every individual, regardless of faith.”
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about the alleged incident, in which he responded; “Any [alleged] attack on people on the basis of their faith or who they are is reprehensible, and I certainly hope that the perpetrators get tracked down and face the full force of the law.”
“I take all attacks on the basis of people’s faiths seriously,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.