Man handed community sentence for racist abuse incident in NI

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Thursday July 07 2016
The Northern Ireland Newsletter newspaper reports on the community sentence handed to a man found guilty of racially abusing two Muslim men in an attack at their home in Belfast in 2014.
Mohammed Asif Khattak and a friend were verbally abused and assaulted when a group of people gathered outside their home in north Belfast on Sunday 1 June, 2014. Mr Khattak suffered injuries to his foot in the attack. A bottle was allegedly thrown through the window of his home and some members of the group who were assembled outside pushed their way into the house assaulting another Pakistani man inside.
At Belfast Magistrates’ court in May, John Montgomery, 59, was found guilty of one charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour intending to stir up hatred or arouse fear, contrary to the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987.
Montgomery, who lives on the same street as the victims, was not implicated in the physical attack on the two men. Mr Khattak told Belfast Magistrates’ court that Montgomery was among members of the group who entered his home and racially abused him. Mr Khattak told the court, “They were calling us Paki b*******, dirty Arabs [and] saying, ‘get out of our street, get out of our country’.”
Appearing in court this week for sentencing, District Judge Ken Nixon ordered Mr Montgomery to complete 150 hours’ community service within a 12-month period.