Mariam Moustafa death: 20-year-old woman sentenced after teenage Egyptian student died in wake of street attack
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A woman has been sentenced to eight months in a young offenders’ institution for her role in the attack on Egyptian student Mariam Moustafa.
Ms Moustafa 18, suffered a stroke shortly after being punched repeatedly and slammed into a bus stop in Nottingham last year.
She died a month later but the suspects could not be charged with manslaughter because investigators were unable to prove a link to the attack.
Six girls pleaded guilty to the offence of affray and on Friday afternoon Mariah Fraser, 20, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to eight months in a young offenders’ institution.
Britania Hunter, 18, and a 16-year-old girl were spared custody. Three other girls, aged 16, 17 and 18, will be sentenced later this month.
Judge Gregory Dickinson QC said: “It is important that everyone with an interest in this sad case should understand that the three defendants are to be dealt with for the offence of affray.
“They were not charged with murder or manslaughter. They are to be sentenced on the basis that their actions, individually and collectively, did not cause the death of Mariam Moustafa.
“The conclusion was that it could not be proved that there was a causative link between the actions of the defendants and the stroke.”
The judge described the girls as “aggressive” but added: “This was not an attack motivated by hostility to race or religion. It was to do with a boy.
“It was a serious incident, with six involved, filmed in part, in view of numerous members of the public. At its core, the cowardly and unnecessary targeting of one young woman.”
Defending his decision not to send two of the girls to prison, he said: “The family of Mariam want the maximum possible sentence to be imposed on all those involved in the case.
“Sympathy for their desperate sadness cannot displace a proper, dispassionate approach to sentencing in a court of law.”
The court heard the attack in Parliament Street, Nottingham, at around 8pm on 20 February was “fuelled by social media”.
Two girls aged 16 and 18 were the main aggressors while the others were either filming the incident or laughing while watching events unfold.
Fraser had previous convictions for robbery, attempted robbery and assaulting a police officer.
Hunter was given a 12-month community order and told to carry out 40 hours unpaid work while the 16-year-old girl was remitted back to youth court with a view to a referral order.
Ms Moustafa was described by her vice principal at Nottingham College as “an aspiring engineering student who was well loved and regarded by her friends, peers and all those who knew her.”
Her father Mohamed Moustafa has previously criticised the prosecution over their handling of the case, describing the charges as “weak”.
Additional reporting by Press Association