Terry Eury, who racially and religiously abused Muslim women in Romford last month, has walked free from court after being given a suspended custodial sentence.
Eury, 56, from Wapping, was given a 12 week suspended sentence at Thames Magistrates Court this morning after being given credit for a guilty plea and on condition that he undergoes alcohol treatment and complies with probation conditions.
He was also ordered to pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
Eury apologised to the court and to the Muslim women he abused. He said that he is not anti-Muslim but was under the influence of alcohol and had no memory of the incident which was captured in a viral 5Pillars video.
The court heard that on April 20 in Romford, Eury abused two women who were “visibly Muslim,” calling them “terrorists” and “Muslim cunts.”
He also told them that the UK was a Christian country and that they should stop bombing Israel.
In written victim statements the women said they feared being physically attacked.
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One victim said that she was traumatised by the incident and had difficulty sleeping. She said it was the worst experience of racism she had ever suffered and that she had been triggered by watching the incident on video.
She explained that she was in a mixed group of Muslims and Christians walking to the train station when Eury approached them. No one intervened to stop the sustained Islamophobic attack, according to her testimony.
The second victim said that she has suffered from the incident “as if she had been physically assaulted” and finds going to work difficult now.
“It’s hard to imagine a man of that age would look at me as if I were vermin, that I didn’t belong in the UK,” she said. “The hatred on his face was frightening.”
The court heard that Eury had several previous convictions for violence and racially or religiously aggravated threatening behaviour.
Eury, defending himself, said that although he was 100 per cent guilty of verbal assault there was no physical violence at all.
“I am ashamed of being there but I don’t remember anything about it, it’s a complete blackout,” he said. “I apologise to those I have verbally abused out of drunkenness. I have no argument with Muslims, the drink had just taken over. I had two bottles of wine and five pints of larger and that’s not a good cocktail. And that is why I am here today.”
Eury, who said he lost his job as a result of his actions, added: “I am not anti-Muslim. I go to Indian restaurants run by Muslims, I take cabs driven by Muslims, I used to work with an Iranian Muslim and we had no issues. I don’t know why I said those things. I have never been anti-Muslim and never will be. I am ashamed and just want to put this behind me. This will never happen again.”
Judge Shanta Deonarine told Eury that she gave him credit for a guilty plea, showing remorse and took into account his mental health issues.
But she said that this was a serious offence which was racially-aggravated, unprovoked, persistent, under the influence of alcohol and committed in broad daylight.
She ordered him to complete a three month alcohol treatment course and 35 days rehabilitation with probation services, as well as to pay costs.
