A teenager accused of attacking a 15-year-old Syrian refugee has fled the country with his mother after a video of the incident went viral, his brother has told MailOnline.
The 16-year-old who is set to be charged with assault is no longer in Huddersfield after the footage from October at Almondbury Community School led to him and his mother being threatened, according to his older brother.
However, he also boasted of an ‘army’ surrounding the teenager as a police van remained outside the family home.
Defending the youth, he said his younger brother had reacted the way he did in the video because the Syrian teen, now named as Jamal, was involved in an earlier incident.
The boy’s brother said his younger sibling and mother had gone abroad to stay with relatives.
Jamal outside Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield where he was filmed being attacked
He added: ‘They’ve left Huddersfield and they’ve left the UK for the time being.
‘My brother doesn’t have any bail conditions so it’s not been a problem.
‘There are rumours that he’s been beaten up in revenge attacks but I think that’s nonsense, although I haven’t spoken to him since all this blew up.
‘There have threats though but we’ve got a good group- a big army – around us so there’s no reason to worry.
‘My brother’s not a bully and that Syrian kid is not the innocent he’s been made out to be.
The sickening video showed the 15-year-old being set upon by an attacker who dragged him to the floor and said ‘I’ll drown you’ before pouring a bottle of water on his face as others watched on.
In the clip Jamal is walking alone when he is approached, headbutted, strangled and pinned to the floor. He twists out of the boy’s grip and walks away, saying nothing.
The alleged attacker yesterday denied it was a racially-aggravated attack and bizarrely boasted he was only ‘charged with common assault’.
The 16-year-old claimed he had not been bullying his classmate before the incident and was previously on ‘good terms’ with him.
The handwritten note released by the alleged attacker in which he claimed the incident ‘was not racial’
The teenager who will be charged over the attack when he appears in court, issued a handwritten statement to the Sun Online.
‘I regret [the incident] but wish to make it clear I was not responsible for breaking his arm, nor had I been bullying him over a period of time as has been reported,’ he wrote.
He continued: ‘The incident was isolated and came about from an altercation between us earlier that day. The incident was not racial as up to that time we had been on good terms.
‘I have now been charged with common assault, not racially-aggravated as has been reported.’
Thousands have flocked to support the teenager and bemoaned how he escaped war-torn Homs only to be abused by youngsters in the UK.
A fundraising campaign for the boy and his family has soared past £100,000 in less than 24 hours.
More than £100,000 has been raised for a teenage Syrian refugee after a video of him being bullied at school was posted online. The victim, in white and wearing a blue cast on his left arm, was approached on the school field as others looked on
In the video, the attacker, carrying a water bottle, headbutts him, and pushes him to the ground
The bully then holds his victim’s throat she her pours water over his face
One woman who donated, named Rose, said: ‘I struggle for words when I think about everything your family has been through escaping Syria and starting a new life in a country that treats you like this. I want to help in any way possible.’
Another donor, Simon Porter, said: ‘Syrian refugee children who have fled a war torn country being bullied in a UK school is unacceptable.’
David Paton added: ‘Poor boy. He manages to escape war and tyranny, only to be bullied by some low life thug in the UK. What an absolute disgrace this bully is, shame on you.’
Mohammed Tahir, who set up the crowdfunding page for the bullying victim, said he had been overwhelmed by the support it had received.
He said: ‘I can’t thank everyone enough for the generous donations they have made.’
MP Nadine Dorries called for ‘serious action’ over the bullying and added the UK should ‘open its arms’ to those facing persecution
Others also took to social media to back the victim and called the incident ‘shameful’
Tory MP Nadine Dorries called for ‘serious action’ over the bullying and added the UK should ‘open its arms’ to those facing persecution
West Yorkshire Police today said they will charge a 16-year-old boy with assault as it emerged the victim’s sister had her headscarf ripped off in another attack.
Officers said he had been interviewed and reported for summons over the incident on a school field and will appear before a youth court ‘in due course.’
Tonight Kirklees Council said alleged incidents at Almondbury Community School are ‘very serious matters’ and that they are fully focused on their work with the police and the school.
A spokesman added: ‘We have been working in partnership for a number of weeks and our shared priority is the safety and welfare of all students.
‘Due to the ongoing police involvement we cannot go into further details, but any reports that safety may be compromised are taken extremely seriously.
‘Safeguarding issues are always thoroughly explored.’
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