Man jailed for punching and stomping on pregnant woman in suspected Islamophobic attack
An Australian man who punched and stomped on a heavily pregnant woman in an “inherently vicious” suspected Islamophobic attack has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Stipe Lozina, 44, attacked Rana Elasmar, 32, in a cafe in Sydney last November. Ms Elasmar, who was wearing a hijab, was 38 weeks pregnant at the time.
Lozina assaulted Ms Elasmar after he asked her for money and she refused him. The “inherently vicious” attack was fuelled by anti-Muslim prejudice, the trial heard.
The man shouted that “Muslims” had attacked his mother and knocked the pregnant victim to the ground, prosecutors said. He then hit Ms Elasmar at least 14 times and stomped on her head, before being restrained by other customers.
Ms Elasmar said she felt she had been attacked because of her religion, and had feared for her unborn baby.
"If nobody intervened, I could have been killed," she said.
"I made a conscious decision to turn my abdomen away from his punches. I wanted to protect my baby."
Although she was left with minor physical injuries, Ms Elasmar said she has suffered from trauma since the attack, including being fearful of being in public.
"Islamophobia needs to end. Violence against women needs to stop," she said last month.
Her baby was safely delivered in the month after the attack.
Sentencing judge Christopher Craigie had previously described Lozina as “obviously unwell” and called the attack "wicked and deplorable".
"The assault was one with a grave potential to cause very serious harm to both the victim and her unborn child," Mr Craigie said on Thursday.
The judge said Lozina had “obsessive opinions about people of the Muslim faith”.
Lozina, who Mr Craigie noted has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, chose to represent himself in court and frequently lapsed into incoherent rants, according to reports in local media.
He repeatedly interrupted sentencing proceedings, which was conducted over video.
Lozina will be eligible for parole in 2022.
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