(SACRAMENTO, CA, 2/2/10) -- The Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) today welcomed a decision by Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott to bring hate crime charges against a man who allegedly used racial slurs during an attack on Muslim store clerks.

CAIR-SV said prosecutors charged the man with committing a hate crime after an attack on two Muslim clerks of Pakistani heritage were assaulted recently at a Ukiah, Calif., truck stop. The alleged attacker reportedly punched the clerks while using racial slurs. It was the second apparently bias-motivated attack on clerks at the truck stop in the past month. Another individual was charged with a hate crime following the first attack in which the victim says he was called an "Arabic f***ing terrorist."

SEE: DA Charges Second Hate Crime in Ukiah Truck Stop Altercations

“Bias motivated crimes must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said CAIR-SV Civil Rights Coordinator Adel Syed. “Only then will bigots of all stripes get the message that racial, religious and ethnic hatred and violence will not be tolerated in America.”

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CONTACT: CAIR-SV Civil Rights Coordinator Adel Syed, 916-514-2376 or 916-441-6269, E-Mail: asyed@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com


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