Updated| Failed asylum seeker jailed for assault which left Sea Cadet permanently scarred

A 29-year-old Palestinian man has been jailed for five years for an unprovoked beating of an 18 year-old Sea Cadet, who was left scarred and suffering permanent eyesight damage as a result.

Failed asylum seeker Ahmed Abdalla Yakoup, had been accused, together with Omar Osman, 34, of Somalia of assaulting and injuring Justin Aquilina and Libyan national Essalami Hasheem, at the Valletta Terminus and trying to steal from them.

Despite the ensuing struggle, Aquilina managed to call the police. When the two foreigners realised this they continued to hit the youth in the face and back. The assailants fled, leaving Aquilina barely able to move and with his face covered in blood. When the police arrived on the scene, they took the victim to the Floriana Health Centre.  Aquilina was referred to Mater Dei due to injuries in his eye. He was kept under observation for two days and still attend follow up due to issues with his eyesight.

Hasheem, a bystander, had tried to intervene but was beaten up and robbed for his efforts. The Police had found the Libyan lying in the street near the War Memorial.

Osman fled the island and is currently the subject of a European Arrest Warrant in connection with the  2013 attack in separate proceedings. 

Yakoup had previously been denied refugee status in 2014, the Ministry of Home Affairs noting that he had four convictions for offences ranging from theft to bodily harm. 

Cross examined by defence lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace in 2013, the victim had reiterated he has many dark skinned friends and cannot be described as a racist. "I was attacked for no reason at all. i neither knew nor ever spoke to my aggressors", the youth said.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi appeared parte civile for Aquilina.