Chigwell: Man admits hate crime after assault on Jewish man

The work of dedicated officers has led to a man admitting to an assault on a member of the Jewish community in Chigwell.

During the incident, the victim, a man aged in his 30s, was driving in Tudor Crescent at around 1pm on 16 May 2021 when a person walked into the road from behind a parked van, causing him to brake suddenly.

The victim was then verbally abused with his Jewish faith referenced. He was also spat on.

The victim then tried to drive away but came to a stop at Fencepiece Road.

As he waited at the junction his car was damaged with the wing mirror on the passenger’s side kicked off and the door damaged.

When he got out to chase those responsible – taking photos to provide officers – he was assaulted and his mobile phone was taken.

He needed urgent medical attention and had seven stitches while also suffering swelling to his face around his right eye.

The victim believed he had been assaulted because of his Jewish faith and the incident was treated as a hate crime.

Souraka Djabouri, then 18, of Tudor Crescent, Ilford – was arrested the following day.

He was subsequently interviewed and charged.

His case was listed for trial today, Wednesday 6 July, at Chelmsford Crown Court but before it began, Djabouri, now 19, admitted the charges of GBH, theft, and religiously aggravated criminal damage.

He will be sentenced at the same court on 4 August.

PC Thomas Tod, of Loughton CID, said:

“Hate crime is a priority for Essex Police and it simply will not be tolerated. Our drive to secure justice in this case shows that.
“We work shoulder to shoulder with our Essex partners to take a tough stance against hatred, and we work closely with the CPS to make sure that, where we identify hate crime offenders, they are brought to justice.”

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