Man jailed for asylum seeker attack

The case was described as one of "extreme gravity"

A man has been jailed for 18 months for an assault on two asylum seekers.

James McKenzie was jailed at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday for the attack on Lebanese brothers Haitham and Ayaad Saada last April.

The assault came only a month after the 22-year-old was released on bail for the stabbing of a man, who later had to undergo major surgery to have his face reconstructed.

McKenzie, of Pinkston Drive, Glasgow, was jailed for four years for assisting in the assault of William Rutherford in March 2001.

The assault happened in the Sighthill area

The 55 year-old was set upon in his own home in Sighthill, Glasgow, with a screwdriver, fork, knife and joiner's bradawl.

Mr Rutherford was rushed to hospital with extensive injuries to his face and had to go through extensive treatment to repair the damage.

The asylum seekers also had to endure an 11-day stay in hospital after being attacked by McKenzie and three other men.

The pair, who had recently left Lebanon, were heading home to Sighthill when they were assaulted.

Glasgow Sheriff Court earlier heard that McKenzie, along with David Dolan, 20, Steven Crawford, 20 and Craig Dolan, 18, grabbed Haitham and pulled him to the ground.

The men repeatedly stamped, punched, kicked and jumped on the 41 year-old until he was almost unconscious.

Asylum seekers have had many problems in Glasgow

Craig Dolan then assaulted Ayaad in the same manner.

The court was told the men beat the pair for "merely crossing their path" after all four had pled guilty.

Sheriff Laura Duncan had earlier jailed David Dolan and Crawford, both of Pinkston Drive, Sighthill, Glasgow, for 18 months.

Craig Dolan, of Langrig Road, Balornock, was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years.

Both victims, who later moved to Bolton in Lancashire, suffered horrendous injuries, with Ayaad now permanently deaf in his right ear.

Sheriff Duncan criticised the attack, adding that it was an incident of "extreme gravity".

She said: "There is no other way to dispose of such individuals and I cannot consider anything else other than custody."