France: Men jailed for two and a half years for horrific homophobic attack
Two men have today been jailed for two and a half years, after savagely beating a gay couple in Paris.
Wilfred de Bruijn was targeted by attackers last year on April 6, when he was walking arm-in-arm with his boyfriend.
He posted a photograph of his injuries hours after the incident, showing he had been badly beaten, with a missing tooth and skull fracture.
19-year-olds K Taieb and M Abdel Malik were sentenced to 30 months behind bars in a Paris court today, with 15 months of probation.
A third man, 21-year-old T Kide, escaped a prison sentence as he was found to have not participated in the attack, but recieved six months’ probation for failing to intervene.
A fourth attacker has anonymity as they are under the age of 18, but will face trial in a youth court at a later date.
De Bruijn told AFP: “We feel very thankful. For 14 months, we have had so much support from family and friends, but also from the rest of society.”
The photograph of his beaten face went viral last year, when he wrote: “Sorry to show you this… it’s the face of homophobia.
“Last night, Olivier and I were badly beaten just for walking arm in arm.
“I woke up in an ambulance covered in blood, missing tooth and broken bones around the eye. I’m home now. Very sad.”
