A prisoner at HMP Berwyn who was jailed for seriously injuring a baby faces losing a testicle after being savagely attacked by four fellow inmates. Qasim Afzal was set upon in his cell at the Wrexham prison, with his attackers filming the brutal beating on a mobile phone.
Caernarfon Crown Court was told the assault was so vicious that one of the victim’s testicles had “died” and may need to be surgically removed. The premeditated attack took place in February 2024, carried out by the inmates in response to Afzal having attacked and injured a four-month-old baby, Judge Timothy Petts said.
Zayn Abu-Manahim, 30, of HMP Berwyn; Zaheer Hussain, 28, of HMP Berwyn; Farhar Khan, 29, of HMP Oakwood; and Russell Lloyd, 34, of HMP Berwyn, were all sentenced today after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm without intent.
Prosecutor Oliver King told the court that the defendants entered the victim’s cell before launching a sustained attack of kicks and punches. “He had no escape,” Mr King said, reports North Wales Live.
The court heard that Abu-Manahim had amassed 53 convictions for 85 offences, including battery, ABH, attempted robbery, possession of a weapon, robbery, affray and assaulting an emergency worker.
Hussain had 16 convictions for 33 offences, including battery, assault, wounding with intent and possession of a blade. Lloyd had 21 convictions for 39 offences, including robbery and attempted robbery, ABH, battery and making threats to kill. Khan had four convictions for 12 offences – they related to drugs offences.
Gareth Morley, defending Abu-Manahim, said there had been a lengthy delay in bringing the case to court and his client had played a different role in filming the incident, with no violence attributed to him.
Euros Jones, defending Hussain, said he was 20 years old when he entered custody and was now 28. His 71 year old mother was in poor health. He had completed a programme addressing violent offending and was keen to move forward with his life.
John Wyn Williams, defending Russell, said he had spent seven years in custody and had used that time to better himself. He was also a father to three children, with whom he maintained regular contact.
Buntry Bantra, acting for Khan, highlighted the lengthy delay in bringing the case to court and noted he had no convictions for violence. While in custody he had undertaken numerous courses to improve himself. He claimed he was being bullied at HMP Berwyn and had instructed a solicitor to secure a transfer.
Judge Petts said: “It is clear the four of you went into his cell, that this was planned and there was a plan to film it and share it on WhatsApp. This was clearly planned as a punishment to him and serve as an example to others.” Judge Petts revealed the victim had been warned about the attack – “he didn’t know when, but somebody had given him an improvised weapon, to try and defend himself”.
Yet he was subjected to kicks, stamps and blows for nearly a minute, involving a makeshift weapon. Judge Petts stated he viewed the filming as equally culpable as the physical assault. The injuries were “severe” according to the judge. He explained: “The most serious came from a stamp to his right testicle, which has effectively died and is likely to need surgical removal.”
He handed the four an additional two and a half years behind bars, to run consecutively with their existing sentences, pushing back their earliest release dates and extending their time on licence upon release.
