Teenager accused of ‘water-board’ attack is ‘a Britain First supporter’

There has been a huge outpouring of support for a young Syrian refugee who was ‘waterboarded’ by a bully at his Yorkshire school. 

The 15-year-old was filmed being set upon by a schoolmate in Huddersfield in footage that has shocked the country and has led to thousands of pounds being raised to support his family.

A 16-year-old who is to be charged over the attack had uploaded links to right wing organisation Britain First, it emerged today.

In one he said the organisation ‘do right’ and re-posted links to Robinson mocking burkas.

In another post he shared a link to an extremist blog that threatened to ‘expose Islam’ and alleged that Muslims claimed raping white British children was ‘part of their culture’.

Another of the posts, shared from the page Robinson, referenced comments by Boris Johnson about Muslim women wearing veils, read: ‘Should Britain ban letterboxes because of all the trouble they’re causing?’ Another showed images of riots, with the words: OUR WORLD TODAY the hell created by one evil ideology’

He also shared a parody video with an actor dressed up as Adolf Hitler, titled ‘Are you fed up with being labelled ‘FAR-RIGHT’?’ 

Another of the posts, shared from the page of English Defence League founder Robinson, apparently referenced comments by Boris Johnson about Muslim women wearing veils, read: ‘Should Britain ban letterboxes because of all the trouble they’re causing?’

Robinson was jailed for contempt of court earlier this year after posting videos about a child grooming trial involving a group of Asian men from Huddersfield. He was later freed on appeal.   

West Yorkshire Police today said the teenager has been interviewed and reported for summons over the incident at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, and will appear before a youth court ‘in due course.’ 

The boy was quizzed over the footage in which the 15-year-old victim, whose arm is in a sling, is headbutted, then pinned down and squirted in the face with water.  

And today it emerged the victim’s sister, who fled the war torn city of Homs with her family, was assaulted on the same day the shocking video went viral on social media.

The girl, who has been subject to so much playground abuse she once tried to kill herself by cutting her wrists with a shard of glass, was attacked yesterday by her tormentors.

The distressing video shows an attacker telling his victim ‘I’ll drown you’ before he launched into the sickening attack.

The clip has provoked outrage across Britain and the 15-year-old boy and his family have been met with a huge outpouring of support from members of the public.

A crowdfunding page set up to support the victim has raised more than £53,000, and the fund is growing minute by minute.  

A lawyer for the family confirmed to MailOnline that the boy and his sister have been subjected to so much abuse that their investigators contacted police, the local council and the the local MP.

Mohammed Akunjee, of Farooq Bajwa & Co, based in Mayfair, London, said: ‘We have been investigating this since the family contacted us about the abuse they are receiving.

‘The boy and his sister have been subjected to so much abuse that we decided to contact the MP in this case.

‘The same day the video went viral on social media of [the boy] being attacked, his sister was also attacked.

‘She had her headscarf ripped off in the playground. This is despite us complaining to the school about the abuse.

‘She has also attempted suicide, and tried to cut her wrists with a shard of glass the level of bullying got so much.’

Mr Akunjee said they have contacted the school and the local authority, but have not been given any information on what action was being taken.

The boy with a clearly broken arm was approached on the school field as others looked on 

He did confirm that the attacker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was excluded on November 20. 

Three other boys that appear in the video are being dealt with by the school. 

In statement West Yorkshire Police said a 16-year-old youth has been interviewed and reported for summons for an offence of assault.

The statement said: ‘The incident occurred on 25 October this year and has been subject to thorough investigation since it was reported to us the day after. 

‘The victim and his family are receiving ongoing support from police and other agencies.

He was then pushed to the ground by another pupil at Almondbury Community School in West Yorkshire 

‘Safeguarding measures have been put in place for the victim and his family.

‘A previous unconnected incident on 7 October, in which the victim suffered a wrist injury, was also fully investigated at the time. 

‘Three youths were interviewed. There was no further police action and the matter was referred to the school.’

The family is believed to have fled from the Syrian city of Homs which was under siege from May 2011 to 2014 following protests against dictator Bashar al-Assad.

The footage, filmed by a friend of the attacker, shows the victim, already with his arm in a plaster cast being targeted on the school field.

The victim, who came to Huddersfield two years ago, is headbutted, dragged to the floor by his neck and then pinned down by his throat. The 16-year-old boy attacking him shouts: ‘I’ll drown you.’

The boy was strangled as water was poured on his face by the bully who said he would ‘drown’ his victim

He then tries to force water from a bottle into the boy’s mouth as his victim struggles underneath him.

After the attack, the victim frees himself and calmly walks away. 

Despite a large crowd gathering, none of the other children follow him as he walks off, alone.

The incident occurred last month but it has now been shared thousands of times on Facebook by people angry at a ‘lack of action by school chiefs’. 

This morning more than £48,000 had been pledged for the boy’s family with some suggesting they should use the money to relocate from Huddersfield where locals claimed the boy’s sister has also been bullied.

The video has been viewed more than 27,000 times and attracted hundreds of comments of disgust from Huddersfield parents. 

The boy walks away, saying nothing and not retaliating to the bullies who attacked and filmed him 

Tory MP Tobias Ellwood was among those to share the footage, writing online: ‘Absolute disgrace – Please retweet. 

‘This bully, his parents, the school where this occurs and the onlookers who fail to step in, all have big questions to answer.

‘To the Syrian refugee – I say sorry. It’s not the welcoming, friendly Britain we are supposed to be.’

The footage was called ‘heartbreaking’ by presenter Jeremy Vine.

The victim’s family fled the Syrian of Homs which was under siege from May 2011 to 2014 following protest against dictator Bashar al-Assad

He said on Twitter: ‘I’m trying to resist naming the bully in this film. More important, is it possible to do anything for the victim? 

‘A Syrian refugee who already had a broken wrist, apparently from a similar attack. Heartbreaking.’

‘Have been supporting the family since it was first brought to my attention. 

‘Understand from council that the school have taken strong action. 

‘Will be following up to ensure all available support is being given!’

An outraged mother of another pupil at the school said the victim was a ‘nice boy’ who is ‘never in trouble.’

Police outside the Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire today

Shanaz Abdullah, 39 said her son Birayar, 17, played football with the victim in school last year.

She said: ‘I know what he has been through. 

‘The victim was much younger than my son but there was a group of them who were all from different countries.

‘He struggled to speak English when he first moved here.

‘I asked my son once ‘why is the boy playing with you so much younger?’

‘He told me it was because he was being bullied by other boys and they wanted him to play with them.

‘He is such a nice boy. He is never in any trouble and would never cause anything.’  

Syrian journalist Danny Makki said on Twitter: ‘Escapes death, destruction and violence in Syria only to be viciously attacked, waterboarded and bullied at school in the U.K. This makes my blood boil.’

A woman added: ‘One of the saddest things about that video is the way the lad gets up and walks away as if he’s used to being treated like it… like it’s normal. I hope karma is real.’ 

On the GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the victim it said the family are ‘refugees in the UK and they struggle to meet the basic necessities of life.

It adds: ‘We want to raise money for the family to ease their situation and hopefully they can use the funds to help improve their quality of life and to put a smile on their faces.

‘Having left a war torn country, the least they deserve is to live in peace without being harassed.

‘Please donate generously and let’s change this horrible situation into a blessing in disguise for them.’

Head teacher of Almondbury Community School Trevor Bowen said: ‘The safety and welfare of students is of paramount importance to us and this was a very serious incident.

‘We are not able to comment further as we are supporting the police with their investigation but I want to be clear that we do not tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any sort in our school.’ 

In a letter to parents, Mr Bowen said: ‘You will be aware of widespread media reports about an incident which took place in school. 

‘The incident happened on our Fernside site a number of weeks ago.

‘The safety and welfare of students is our number one priority and I can assure you that this situation is being taken extremely seriously.

‘The matter is subject to an ongoing police investigation and, as I am sure you understand, we must be guided by the authorities in the amount of detail we are able to provide. 

‘However, I can confirm we are working with the police to support their enquiries.

‘Since the incident occurred in October, the school, the local authority and the police have all taken action. 

‘We must allow the legal process to take its course, but I want to be absolutely clear that we do not tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any sort in our school.

‘I can also assure you that we are working very hard to ensure it is ‘business as usual’ across the school and that there is no disruption to the children’s education. 

‘The wellbeing of students is of paramount importance to us and a high level of support is available to anyone who may need it.’

A spokesman for Kirklees Council said on Twitter: ‘A police investigation is underway into the video from a local school. 

‘Neither us nor the school condone violence in any form and behaviour like this will not be tolerated.’   

Waterboarding is used as a form of torture where water is poured over the face of the victim and their breathing passages causing the sensation of drowning.