labh_janjua
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New York, March 8 (IANS) A teenage boy of Pakistani origin has been held guilty by a Queens Supreme Court jury of committing a hate crime by cutting off a Sikh boy’s hair by force. Umair Ahmed was held guilty Friday of hate crimes, harassment and possession of a deadly weapon.
The trial stemmed from an incident last May when the victim, Harpal Singh Vacher, then 15, was a high school student in Queens borough. Ahmed, then 17, was also a student in the same school.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown observed: “The defendant has been convicted of a serious attack on the fundamental beliefs of the victim’s religion and his freedom to worship freely. Crimes of hate will never be tolerated here in Queens County - in particular the most culturally diverse county in the nation.”
Unshorn hair is one of the five articles of faith for Sikhs.
Depending on whether Ahmed is treated as a youthful offender or as an adult, he could face up to four years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 11, a press release by United Sikhs, an advocacy group, said.
Jaspreet Singh, staff attorney for United Sikhs, commented: “We are thankful that the perpetrator has been convicted, and that the jurors recognised that this was not a simple incident of hair cutting; freedom of religious practice must be preserved.”
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/pakistani-boy-in-new-york-guilty-of-hate-crime-against-sikh_10025458.html |
