Egyptian-Italian Mariam Moustafa was punched, stamped on and dragged 20 metres along the ground. She died on Wednesday
“Imagine the outrage if a British girl was attacked by six Muslim, Arab immigrants,” Mariam’s second cousin Saphia told JOE.
A gang of six girls attacked the Engineering student in what her family believe to be a race hate crime.
They say the same girls assaulted Mariam and her sister Mallak in August, an incident they reported as hate crime, and that it was a vital warning sign ignored by police.
As a result, they believe British authorities to have been “negligent” in handling Mariam’s case.
Egyptian social media has been ablaze with #حق_مريم_لن_يضيع, meaning: “Mariam’s rights will not be lost.”
The country’s government is planning to send a delegation of parliamentarians to the UK.
Hatim Moustafa, her 50-year-old father, said: “I want justice for my daughter, not just my daughter but also so this doesn’t happen to another girl or another boy.
“My daughter was like an angel. She would do anything for anyone – a very kind girl.
“She meant the world to me. She tried to help anyone – if they needed money or anything – she would always help.
“All of my family – my son, my daughter – they have all been crying after what happened. It’s not fair.
“I needed some help and it came after, when she died.”
Nottinghamshire police said: “At this time, from our investigation, there is no information to suggest that the assault was motivated by hate but we continue to keep an open mind.
“We would like to reassure the community that we are treating this incident very seriously and we are working hard to establish the circumstances.”
Anyone with any information about the assault is urged to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101 and quote incident number 335 of February 21.
Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
