Thirteen people charged over attack on asylum seeker in Croydon

A total of 13 people have been charged in connection with the alleged hate crime attack on a Kurdish Iranian asylum seeker in south London, police said today.

Student Reker Ahmed, 17, suffered a fractured spine and a brain haemorrhage, when he was set upon and beaten attacked by a gang as he waited at a bus stop in Croydon with two friends.

He remained in a serious condition in hospital today as police continued to hunt as many as a dozen or more suspects who are through to be still at large.

Detectives believe up to 30 people were involved in the incident in Shrublands Avenue near the teenager’s foster home at around 11.40pm on Friday.

Five people appeared at Croydon magistrates’ court yesterday charged with violent disorder, with one also charged with racially aggravated grievous bodily harm.

Today the Met said a further eight people had been charged in connection with the incident and were due to appear in court today.

The new charges came as members of Croydon’s Kurdish community described the victim as a quiet and polite college student who had arrived in the UK less than a year ago.

Mohammed Qardi, 22, said he had seen Mr Ahmed a number of times at the Middle East Shisha tea house in West Croydon.

He told the Standard: “He’s a quiet person, he’s not really talking to everybody. You can see people from their face - he’s not a bad guy, he’s not looking for trouble.

“He was going to college, coming back, going home. Or sometimes he would come here, play some dominoes, drink something, and then go.”

He added: “We’re not happy with what has happened to him. They have to sort this out because maybe more people will get racist about the refugees coming here.”

Another teenager said the 17-year-old had been studying English at a language college in Croydon.

Detectives say they are still trying to trace the driver and the occupants of a white hatchback with a black roof that stopped at the scene near The Goat pub during the frenzy.

​Patson Ngoma, the landlord of The Goat, today condemned the attack after Scotland Yard said it was investigating whether some of the suspects had been drinking in the pub earlier that evening.

He told the Standard: “On the day all of us were having a nice time. It was just a normal day like any other day. We didn’t hear anything, we didn’t know anything.”

Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan said Mr Ahmed would be “scarred for life” following the assault, and revealed police were still trying to track down the teenager’s family in Iran.

She said there was no provocation for the attack saying : ”This was the most extreme type of violence when you have individuals who are stamping on a person’s head. There is no provocation for that.”

Among those charged yesterday were siblings Daryl Davis, 20, and Danyelle Davis, 24, as well as brothers George and Jack Walder, 24, who appeared with co-defendant Barry Potts, 20, at Croydon magistrates’ court yesterday charged with violent disorder.

The five, all from Croydon, spoke only to confirm their names and addresses. George Walder was also charged with racially aggravated grievous bodily harm.