An estate agent has been jailed after attacking two gay men holding hands in Birmingham city centre. He told the pair: ‘Not everyone wants to see that.’
Usman Murtza, 31, was standing next to his white Rolls Royce when he confronted John-Paul Kesseler and Anthony Smith in October 2021.Murtza then struck Mr Kesseler in the face with a glass bottle, leaving the victim with a deep gash.In a statement Mr Kesseler, a student, described his continuing anger at the fact he and his friend were attacked ‘because of who we are, queer men’.
He branded Murtza an ignorant homophobe and described the look on his face at the time as the ‘purest distillation of hatred I have ever seen’. Mr Kesseler said his studies had suffered since the attack and said: ‘I am apoplectic someone had the freedom to spout hate because of their ignorance.’He added: ‘The defendant saw us holding hands and couldn’t contain the hate he had for us. It was the purest distillation of hatred I have ever seen.’
Mr Smith said he no longer felt safe holding his current partner’s hand in public or leaving gay bars and clubs in Birmingham.The married father told Birmingham Crown Court had gay friends himself, and said he could empathise with the victims because of the similar hostility which came with being Asian.
In a letter, Murtza said: ‘I would like to offer my very sincere apologies to John-Paul Kesseler and Anthony Smith for my stupid and dangerous behaviour.
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