Two girls who attacked Mariam Moustafa in Nottingham sentenced for affray

14 June 2019, 16:09 | Updated: 14 June 2019, 16:12

Mariah Fraser, 20, has been sentenced to eight months in a young offenders' institution and Britania Hunter, 18, and a 16-year-old girl have been spared custody at Nottingham Crown Court after teaming up to punch Egyptian student Mariam Moustafa and slam her into a bus stop.

The 18-year-old suffered a stroke shortly after the attack and died a month later.

Passing sentence at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, Judge Gregory Dickinson QC told the court: "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 added: "This was not an attack motivated by hostility to race or religion. It was to do with a boy."

Speaking directly to Fraser, the judge said: "You used violence. You contributed significantly to the overall seriousness of the affray.

"It is not correct to say that you were "on the periphery", as was submitted on your behalf. "In my judgment, your role as a part of the incident as a whole, with your record of convictions, means that a custodial sentence is necessary."

The judge continued: "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."

#WATCH “The law is basically telling me I should carry a knife to protect myself.” Mallak Moustafa says she’s angry after only 1 of 6 girls who attacked her big sister was sentenced to custody today. Mariam Moustafa died of a stroke after the attack last year.#CapitalReports pic.twitter.com/bQ7tboRJt9

— Capital East Mids News (@CapitalEMNews) June 14, 2019

Detailing the reasons why he decided to refer the 16-year-old girl to the youth court, Judge Dickinson 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. It would only add to the tragedy of this case to put (the girl) into custody."

Turning to Hunter, the judge said he would not be imposing a custodial sentence as there was "compelling personal mitigation".