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'Shabby racist' jailed after kicking pregnant Muslim woman in stomach 'causing her to lose baby'

Judge calls David Gallacher 'a thug and a racist to boot'

Will Worley
Wednesday 24 May 2017 10:38 EDT
David Gallacher kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach and attacked her husband
David Gallacher kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach and attacked her husband (Thames Valley Police/PA Wire)

A “shabby racist” who kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach, causing her to lose her baby, has been jailed for more than three years.

As Samsam Haji-Ali shouted “I’m pregnant”, David Gallacher continued his sustained attack on her outside a Co-op in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, Aylesbury Crown Court heard.

The 34-year-old was left bleeding and rolling on the floor after the assault and miscarried her twins several weeks later.

Her husband Abdullah Sulamain, 40, was also left needing stitches after he was hit with a wine bottle during the attack.

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After calling him “a thug and a racist to boot” Judge Francis Sheridan sentenced Gallacher to three years and seven months behind bars.

Prosecutor Christopher Wing had earlier told the the court that Ms Haji-Ali was sitting in her car when Gallacher approached her and said: "You come here with your clown outfit on, you f***ing people, you are the f***ing problem in this place".

When her husband tried to intervene, Gallacher hit him with a wine bottle and a bag of ice, causing a four inch cut which required stitches.

Gallacher then kicked Ms Haji-Ali repeatedly, despite her pleas and also tried to hit her with the wine bottle.

"This lady's pregnancy was absolutely fine before she attended that shop and the defendant kicked her again in the stomach having been told she was pregnant,” said Judge Sheridan.

"There was a racial element to this attack. The defendant is a shabby racist on the language that he used towards this lady."

Judge Sheridan added that he believed "the loss of that baby was a direct result of a kick to the stomach of a pregnant woman".

He said he would leave it to others to decide whether the crown needed medical evidence to prove the link between the attack and the miscarriage, or whether common sense was enough.

Addressing Gallacher, Judge Sheriden said: "It is time you learnt that your vile conduct and abhorrent views are a thing of the past.

"This county will not bow to the views of racists, because decent society demands that intolerance is shown to all racists of any sort, however they chose to express their hatred of others, or dislike of others and the abuse that goes with it."

Gallacher admitted two counts of racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and three counts of assaulting a police officer during his arrest on 14 September last year.

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