A man in Australia has been charged for punching and kicking a heavily pregnant woman in what was described by a leading Australian Islamic association as an “Islamophobic” attack.
Shocking security camera footage showed a man approaching a table of three women wearing headscarves as they chatted at a cafe Sydney on Wednesday (Nov 20).
The 43-year-old suspect is seen lunging over the table to attack a 31-year-old woman, who police said is 38 weeks pregnant, without provocation.
After several frenzied punches, the woman fell to the ground and was stamped on, before bystanders wrestled the assailant away.
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) said the man was heard “yelling anti-Islamic hate speech at the victim and her friends”.
“This was clearly a racist and Islamophobic attack and we expect it to be treated as such,” said AFIC president Rateb Jneid.
