Police have released custody images of two teenagers who attacked a student in Canterbury city centre and left him with long-term injuries.
Jack Barron and Luke Fogorolli have today (January 15) been sentenced for their part in the serious assault on German exchange student Daniel Ezzedine.
Daniel, who was 17 at the time, was assaulted in Rose Lane near Whitefriars Shopping Centre, following a verbal altercation between two gangs of young people during the early evening of June 6, 2019.
He suffered serious head injuries, leaving him with long-term brain damage which requires ongoing treatment.
Following an investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, ten people were charged in connection with the attack.
A jury unanimously found Jack, 17, from Longbury Drive, Orpington and Luke, 18, of Sturry Road, Canterbury, guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court.
(Image: RTL.de)
Barron was also found guilty of violent disorder. Fogorolli had already pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to violent disorder.
The court had heard that, shortly before the attack, Barron had gathered bricks into a bag, which he swung at the victim’s head during the assault, sending him to the ground.
Fogorolli joined in by kicking the victim’s head, leaving him injured as they ran away. Witnesses said they had heard the two assailants boasting and laughing after the assault.
The two defendants were sentenced on Friday (January 15), Barron to six years in a young offender institution.
Fogorolli, who was also sentenced for a separate incident relating to possessing drugs with intent to supply and possession of an offensive weapon, received a total custodial sentence of six-and-a-half years.
Detective Inspector Ross Gurden said: “There can be no doubt of the part that was played by these two offenders in an assault which led to a teenager being left with life-changing injuries.
“They may have run from the scene after the attack on that fateful day, but ultimately they will never be able to escape the consequences of their actions and I am pleased the court recognised the severity of their crimes.”
The remaining eight suspects are due to appear in court at a later date.
‘I could not believe it’
Daniel’s brother Bassam previously spoke of his heartbreak at the attack, describing his younger sibling as a ‘Herzenmensch’, who smiled in every photo.
He told German news site RTL.de on June 12: “For me, the world ended. I could not believe it.”
Daniel’s mother flew over to the UK on an emergency Visa three days after the attack.
(Image: RTL.de)
Bassam explained: “In the beginning the doctor reported that the probability of survival was only 30 per cent. That was a stab in the heart for us.”
He continued: “It was difficult the first few days. My mother didn’t come to England because she didn’t have a Visa.
“If she is not beside her child while he is almost about to die, that is the worst thing that can happen.
“We just had no idea how he was doing.”