New York prosecutors have charged a New York woman with hate crimes several months after she pepper-sprayed her Muslim Uber driver on the Upper East Side.
“The victim is a hardworking New Yorker who should not have to face this type of hate because of his identity,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “She senselessly assaulted a Muslim Uber driver while he was just doing his job.”
Court documents allege that back in July, Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, pepper-sprayed Uber driver Shohel Mahmud, 45, as he began to pray in Arabic at a red light. Ms Guilbeault was seated in the back with another passenger.
“Ms Guilbeault lunged forward, toward the driver's seat,” the district attorney said.
Video obtained by local news outlet ABC7 shows that she proceeded to spray Mr Mahmud in the face.
Mr Shohel can be seen shouting in pain and shortly after, Ms Guilbeault can be seen and heard saying to the other passenger: “Get him out.”
In the video, the other passenger appears shocked and repeatedly asks Ms Guilbeault what she is doing.
“Everyone is welcome to live and work in Manhattan, and our hate crimes unit will continue to address bias-motivated attacks by thoroughly investigating and prosecuting cases, conducting community outreach, and supporting victims,” said Mr Bragg.
Ms Guilbeault's attorney, Michael Alber, said that the matter should not be charged as a hate crime.
"She was not motivated by race, religion, national origin, or any other discriminatory factor," he wrote in an emailed statement to The National.
"This case needs to be looked at with all surrounding circumstances which include assessing all of the evidence and lack of evidence. We look forward to working with the District Attorney's office to fully vet all of the facts in the proper forum, which does not embellish or exaggerate the claims, especially where the integrity and credibility of claims can properly be tested. A full and fair review of the evidence is going to show a crime was not committed in this matter, and that a rush to judgment is not appropriate, and is hurtful to all those involved," he added.
When describing the attack to ABC7, Mr Shohel said that he “was kind of hanging out of the car” and that his seat belt prevented him from escaping initially.
“I closed my eyes and finally got out, but realised my car was running so I put it in park again and got out,” he said.
Prosecutors said that Ms Guilbeault has been charged with one count each of second-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree assault as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment.
Generally speaking, hate crimes are based on the specific targeting of someone due to bias-motivation based largely on ethnicity, religion, gender or disability. Hate crimes have a strong potential of resulting in more severe penalties.
Ms Guilbeault has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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AUSTRALIA SQUADS
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Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
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- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
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If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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Tomorrow 2021
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Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
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The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
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Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
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Defence review at a glance
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Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
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