13th January 2018 • article
Neo-Nazi who shouted 'white power' and tried to kill a Muslim man with his van walks free after trial
Image: Met Police
Just a few weeks ago, a British court heard that 48-year-old Marek Zakrocki shouted "white power", gave a Nazi salute and drove his van at the Asian owner of a restaurant in Harrow, west London.
He was even heard saying, "I'm going to kill a Muslim. I'm doing it for Britain".
But yesterday he was convicted to just 32 weeks in jail for 'dangerous driving'. He was then allowed to walk free from jail because the court determined he had already served his sentence.
The Muslim Council of Britain's Miqdaad Versi told Barfi Culture today: "It is inconceivable that a Muslim who committed such an act would have got away with such a sentence and without terrorism even being discussed."
Zakrocki was allowed to walk free even though London's Metropolitan Police had sent armed police to arrest him because he was deemed a serious threat, according to the BBC's home affairs correspondent.
Moreover, they found a 'Nazi coin' in his pockets and copies of Britain First newspapers and flyers at his home in Harrow. He had made donations to far-right group too, the court was told.
He did not try and hide his beliefs either, telling police officers: "I'm going to kill a Muslim. I'm doing it for Britain," and: "This is how I'm going to help the country. You people cannot do anything."
The court also heard he had assaulted his wife beforehand and abused a Somali woman.
And yet he was convicted only for dangerous driving and allowed to walk from prison.
This is the BBC's home affairs correspondent reporting the sentence
To put it simply, the Crown Prosecution Service did not bother pursuing the serious charges and the judge was willing to let him off lightly.
During the sentencing the judge said: "These events are the result of you having drunk up to two bottles of wine, which you knew would affect you seriously because of your chronic alcoholism."
Because he admitted to dangerous driving, the CPS did not bother pursuing the charge of attempted Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH).
The MCB's Assistant Secretary General Miqdaad Versi said "an explanation" was needed as to how this was allowed to happen.
He added: "There was not even any uplift to the sentence to reflect the unambiguous religious nature of this crime (Section 145 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003). The justice system has many questions to answer as does the wider society."
"We cannot keep on excusing anti Muslim violence."
He was even heard saying, "I'm going to kill a Muslim. I'm doing it for Britain".
But yesterday he was convicted to just 32 weeks in jail for 'dangerous driving'. He was then allowed to walk free from jail because the court determined he had already served his sentence.
The Muslim Council of Britain's Miqdaad Versi told Barfi Culture today: "It is inconceivable that a Muslim who committed such an act would have got away with such a sentence and without terrorism even being discussed."
Zakrocki was allowed to walk free even though London's Metropolitan Police had sent armed police to arrest him because he was deemed a serious threat, according to the BBC's home affairs correspondent.
Moreover, they found a 'Nazi coin' in his pockets and copies of Britain First newspapers and flyers at his home in Harrow. He had made donations to far-right group too, the court was told.
He did not try and hide his beliefs either, telling police officers: "I'm going to kill a Muslim. I'm doing it for Britain," and: "This is how I'm going to help the country. You people cannot do anything."
The court also heard he had assaulted his wife beforehand and abused a Somali woman.
And yet he was convicted only for dangerous driving and allowed to walk from prison.
This is the BBC's home affairs correspondent reporting the sentence
This man - who did a Nazi salute and then drove at an Indian takeaway owner - has just been sentenced to 32 weeks for dangerous driving. That means he's leaving prison for time served on remand. Here are the facts from his guilty plea last year: https://t.co/38mU1qkemp
— Dominic Casciani (@BBCDomC) January 12, 2018
Why such a lenient sentence?
To put it simply, the Crown Prosecution Service did not bother pursuing the serious charges and the judge was willing to let him off lightly.
During the sentencing the judge said: "These events are the result of you having drunk up to two bottles of wine, which you knew would affect you seriously because of your chronic alcoholism."
Because he admitted to dangerous driving, the CPS did not bother pursuing the charge of attempted Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH).
But there's no such thing in law as racist dangerous driving - it's not an aggravating factor in sentencing such a crime. So Zakrocki's words and views (he had a Nazi coin in his pocket) could not be taken into account by the judge in sentencing.
— Dominic Casciani (@BBCDomC) January 12, 2018
The MCB's Assistant Secretary General Miqdaad Versi said "an explanation" was needed as to how this was allowed to happen.
He added: "There was not even any uplift to the sentence to reflect the unambiguous religious nature of this crime (Section 145 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003). The justice system has many questions to answer as does the wider society."
"We cannot keep on excusing anti Muslim violence."
About us
Barfi Culture is a news-magazine on people of South Asian heritage living in Europe and North America. We don't cover South Asia directly.
Sign up!
We publish Updates and Articles to our website every day. At 5pm every Monday - Friday we also post them to Twitter and WhatsApp. Weekly updates by email.
Email (weekly)
WhatsApp (once a day)
Your number will never be shared.
Your number will never be shared.
Twitter (daily)
Follow @barfi_culture
Follow @barfi_culture
Facebook (daily)
Instagram (daily)