Hate crime charges against man accused of attacking Muslim from Orlando

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Florida is requesting that the Orange County State Attorney's office seek hate crime enhancement on charges already filed.

This comes after an Orlando Muslim was attacked earlier this month in what the organization calls a racially-motivated assault and battery.

The attorney says the battery was due to prejudice, prejudice from the men being Muslim.
His client was dressed in traditional attire.

The attorney says Victor Dubauskas not only insulted the men but also the religion of Islam.

Seventy-two-year-old Dubauskas is in the Orange County Jail charged with battery and assault.

The arrest report says the defendant said he has an issue with the Muslims sitting outside the Orlando business.

In this witness video, Dubauskas allegedly poured his beer on Ghulam Shareef and then threw his Corona bottle toward the victim.

The report also says Dubauskas said, "He was going to return and kill off them."

“We're hoping the police, the investigators and the state attorney look at this as a hate crime because the incident happened, we believe solely, based on our client's race and religion. It was our client's visible appearance as a Muslim which actually attracted Victor to harass our clients. He wouldn't leave them alone after they constantly told him to leave and he eventually assaulted and battered them," Omar Saleh, an attorney for CAIR-Florida, says.

The attorney says Dubauskas is a real estate agent.

The lawyer is also looking into asking for an administrative probe by the Florida Real Estate Commission and Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulations.

The attorney says what's not in the report is that the defendant told the men he knew where they pray and where their mosque is.

The mosque was put on high alert.



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