In what is being reported as an Islamophobic act, a pregnant woman was punched and stomped at by a man at a Sydney cafe on Thursday. The woman who was wearing a headscarf was 38-weeks pregnant. The unprovoked attack was caught on CCTV camera, which shows the man approach the table of three women wearing headscarves, who were chatting.
In the video, the 43-year-old suspect is seen lunging over the table to attack a 31-year-old woman. The man is seen to be punching the woman several times after which she fell to the ground. He then went on the stamp on her before bystanders could wrestle him away.
The attacker, identified as Stipe Lozina had stopped by their table earlier and chatted with the group.
Police said a suspect has been charged with "assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray" and denied bail. A witness said the man was yelling anti-Islamic hate speech at the victim and her friends.
They said there's the possibility of him being slammed with additional charges, but declined to comment on the attacker's motives.
The woman was taken to the hospital following the attack and was discharged soon after.
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) President Rateb Jneid said, "This was clearly a racist and Islamophobic attack and we expect it to be treated as such."
"If it were not for the brave actions of these members of the community in stopping the assault the victim may very well have sustained much more serious injuries," said police inspector Luke Sywenkyj.
A recent report by researchers at Charles Sturt University found Islamophobia in Australia was "a continuous phenomenon" and women wearing headscarves are especially at risk.
