Thugs who left a man in a coma and with permanent brain damage after a minor row at a London underground station will be out of jail in just months, after they were handed short sentences.
Ali Ali, 20, Gessica Goti, 22, and Mohamed Abdulle, 22, were given jail terms of between 16 months and four years, while Fiona Abdillahi, 18, was handed a suspended sentence after the gang’s “incredibly violent attack” at Oxford Circus tube station in London on November 5, 2017.
Blackfriars Crown Court heard how the trouble began after one of the defendants ‘bumped into’ two 40-year-old men on the station platform, prompting a short altercation which turned violent when Goti punched one of the pair.
Ali then hit the man with a glass bottle, causing him to fall to the floor, at which point the rest of the gang set on the victim — who was left with permanent brain injuries from the assailants punching and kicking him, and stamping on his head, as he lay collapsed on the ground.
The other man suffered facial injuries and a laceration to the back of the head as a result of the attack, which saw him bottled to the ground at the London underground station by Ali and Abdulle.
In a victim impact statement the first victim, who was placed in an induced coma for five days following the attack, told the court: “My old life is over following this incident”.
Convicted of GBH and violent disorder, Ali was sentenced to four years in prison, while Goti was told to spend 16 months in jail after being found guilty of violent disorder.
Abdulle and Abdillahi, who both pleaded guilty to violent disorder, were ordered to serve a three-year prison term and a ten-month suspended sentence, respectively.
Though handed more than eight years jail time in total between them, the attackers will likely only serve half of their respective terms behind bars due to the UK system usually letting convicts out on parole automatically once halfway through their sentence.
Detective Constable Paul Burbridge said: “This was an incredibly violent and unnecessary attack, and the victim is lucky to be alive.
“Regardless, the rest of his life will now be affected by the serious injuries he sustained at the hands of these aggressive young people.
“I am pleased that the jury saw fit to convict them, and of the assistance provided by the general public in identifying the perpetrators so they could be brought before the courts.
“I hope this serves as a clear reminder to people that we absolutely will not tolerate any form of violence on the rail network.”
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