Two men charged in the 2018 assault of a Mississauga father of two who was beaten within an inch of his life have been found guilty of aggravated assault but not guilty of attempted murder.
Janis Corhamzic and Adem Corhamzic, who were previously charged with aggravated assault and assault in the attack on Mohammed Abu Marzouk, were found guilty at a judge-alone trial in Superior Court in Brampton on Tuesday. The pair were also convicted of the assault of a friend of the victim who tried to intervene in the attack on July 15, 2018.
The attack left Abu Marzouk’s family forever changed — the large scar still visible on the back of his head a reminder of the incident that nearly ended his life.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Abu Marzouk was relieved the legal process was over and called the support of the community and the public “a blessing.”
“The pain will stay, nothing will erase it,” he said. “I still encourage every Canadian to stand against hate because Canada has no place for hate.”
Court heard Tuesday the father of two suffered 10 to 15 skull fractures and brain bleeding resembling the injuries one might see in a car crash. His attackers, meanwhile, could be heard yelling, “f–king Arabs!, f–king terrorists.”
Those comments are among the reasons police considered the crime “hate-motivated.”
Yet in delivering his verdict, Justice Fletcher Dawson said he believed the attack was “anti-Arab, not anti-Muslim.”
During the attack, Abu Marzouk’s four- and six-year-old daughters could be heard asking if their dad had died and if they would ever see him again, court heard. “Our dad is going to die,” the girls were heard saying from the family’s van that day.
“This did not deter the accused,” Dawson said.
Still, said Dawson, “I am unable to say I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of their intent to kill. That said, this was a close case.”
Officer testified assault was ‘most gruesome’ he’s seen
Abu Marzouk’s wife, Diana Attar, could be seen shaking her head at the result.
In a statement Tuesday, Attar said the night of the attack, the family saw “the darkest side of humanity, one that we would not wish upon anyone.”
“We were doing an ordinary thing like any other Canadian family, enjoying a beautiful summer evening at our local community centre with our friends, when Mohammad was viciously attacked,” she said.
“Today’s verdict offers some closure as we await sentencing. But we know we have a much longer road to recovery,” she added in part.
WATCH | Wife of victim speaks exclusively to CBC News in 2018:
Peel Regional Police have confirmed that they are investigating the beating of Mohammed Abu Marzouk as a hate-motivated crime. Two men are in custody and have been charged with one count of aggravated assault and two counts of assault.
Court heard Abu Marzouk was kicked repeatedly in the head in what one witness described as an act fuelled by hate.
“It was like they were trying to kick a soccer ball as far as they could,” court head from one witness.
Court also heard from a police officer who testified he remembered the incident like it was yesterday. Even four and half years after the incident, he maintained it was “the most gruesome event” he’d ever witnessed.
It was a warm July evening when Abu Marzouk and his family were in their vehicle and about to head home from a picnic at a Mississauga community centre. As they went to leave, the family says say two men approached shouting, “You didn’t see us.”
Police said at the time there was no indication anyone was struck by a vehicle before the attack.
Abu Marzouk got out of his vehicle to talk to the men and that’s when one of them punched him the face. In court Tuesday, the judge found it was Janis Corhamzic who initiated the fight, with Abu Marzouk pushing back only after he was first assaulted.
“Please don’t touch him, please don’t hurt my husband. I have two little girls, please don’t hurt my husband,” Abu Marzouk’s wife previously told CBC News that she pleaded with the attackers.
Nearby, she spotted a police car and ran to ask for help. When she returned, her husband had fallen to the ground, blood spilling from his ear and pooling around his head. Moments later, he lost consciousness and Attar began reciting prayers that Abu Marzouk would survive.
‘Hateful’ incidents have years-long toll, says imam
Abu Marzouk was rushed to a Toronto trauma centre, where almost immediately, he was taken into surgery and put on a breathing tube. Attar previously told CBC News surgeons “removed a part of his skull” to stop the bleeding.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said the struggles that the two families have faced represent “the hidden and unreported reality of suffering an Islamophobic attack in Canada. Traumas do not end when the attack ends.”
The group says families are often left grappling with physical, mental, social and financial difficulties long after such incidents and is calling for the federal government to create a national support fund for victims of hate-motivated crimes.
Asked if it was disappointed the pair wasn’t convicted of attempted murder, the council added it will be reviewing the decision and will have more to say after that.
Ibrahim Hindy, imam at the Dar al-Tawheed mosque, where both families pray, told reporters said he was happy to hear from the judge a recognition of how “heinous” and “hateful” the attack was.
“I hope that both of those things are reflected in sentencing so that these families can finally get some closure and can get some semblance of justice.
“Because there’s never going to be complete justice for what they’ve faced.”
Sentencing submissions for the trial are expected to begin March 31.
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