US: Man charged for hate crime against Sikh man
Thursday, 04/04/2013
http://punjabnewsline.com/news/US_-Man-charged-for-hate-crime-against-Sikh-man.html
WASHINGTON: A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted a Washington man on charges of hate crime against a Sikh man.Jamie Larson, 49, may have to undergo 10 years of imprisonment after being charged.
A statement issued by Department of Justice said the accused has violated Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crime Prevention Act, 2009. On October 17, the accused assaulted the 50-year-old victim, based upon the latter’s ‘actual and perceived colour and national origin, which included Middle Eastern and Arab descent.
Larson was arrested at the scene of the attack after a witness called 911.The said law criminalizes acts of physical violence causing bodily injury motivated by any person's actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.
"Attacks such as this one, based on prejudice and racial hate, are contrary to who we are and violate the law," said US Attorney Jenny A Durkan."Protecting the civil rights of all the members of our community is a top priority for our office," he said.
California-headquartered North American Punjabi Association expressed its satisfaction on Larson's indictment, saying "these kinds of racial attacks are a slam of glorious history of our Country."
