Canadian court sentences two brothers for brutal assault on Muslim men

Two brothers have been sentenced to six years in prison for a vicious assault on two Muslim men, but “no sentence can undo the harm to our family,” said the wife of one of the victims.

The assault took place July 15, 2018, as reported by Anadolu Agency.

Abu Marzouk, then 39, his wife Diana Attar and their two daughters, aged 4 and 6, were about to head home after a picnic in Mississauga, just outside of Toronto.

Two men approached the family’s vehicle and Marzouk got out to speak to them. They had indicated that they had been hit or nearly so by the vehicle. The pair then yelled anti-Arab racist remarks and one man struck Marzouk in the face and the other began beating him as his daughters watched from inside the van.

Marzouk sustained life-threatening injuries. The assailants also attacked Fuat Yucel, then 49, a friend of Marzouk and a Turkish national, when he attempted to help the victim. Yucel received major injuries.

“The Abu Marzouk and Yucel families, as is typical for many who suffer such attacks, have been struggling for years in the aftermath of the incident—physically, mentally, and emotionally,” the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said in a statement Tuesday, following the sentencing. “This is the hidden and unreported reality of hate in Canada. The difficulties and traumas do not end when the attack ends.”

Attar said she was glad that “this is over and our family can move on towards the road to healing” but the pain will remain.

“There is no sentence that can undo the harm to our family,” she said at a news conference

Nadia Hasan, NCCM’s chief operating officer, said hate crimes are on the rise in Canada. For that reason, the organisation has urged a National Support Fund for Victims of Hate-Motivated Crimes.

In 2021, the National Action Summit on Islamophobia recommended the fund be established.