Grieving father slams ‘lack of respect’ after girls admit attacking his daughter

The father of a student who died after a street assault has claimed authorities showed him "no respect" by not informing him of a court hearing in which three girls admitted attacking his daughter.

Mariam Moustafa suffered a stroke which left her in a coma after the attack on February 20 last year and died almost a month later on March 14.

Six teenagers had been charged with the offence of affray but three had denied the charge in October and were due to stand trial last week.

But Mariah Fraser, 19, Britania Hunter, 18, and a 16-year-old girl, admitted their part in the attack before Judge Gregory Dickinson QC on April 16.

Three other teenage girls, two aged 17 and one aged 18 admitted affray at Nottingham Youth Court last year.

The case can be reported today after restrictions were lifted by District Judge Timothy Spruce.

The 18-year-old Egyptian student's father, Mohamed Moustafa, told the Press Association he was not informed of the recent hearing, describing it as "another failure in the case of our daughter".

The family's legal representative said an official complaint has been made to authorities.

Mr Moustafa, 51, said: "We were not informed or advised in any way, shape, or form that there was a hearing on that day.

"As a family we are entitled to know everything regarding our daughter's case beforehand and not after.

"We should have been informed of that hearing date and time and we should have been given the opportunity to attend the hearing. This very simple right was taken from us.

"This is not the first mistake. A lot of mistakes happened with Mariam from the very first day and now it is just normal. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes with Mariam.

"I believe it is not fair at all – because it is my daughter."

Mariam, who Mr Moustafa described as "very kind" and "like an angel" after she was attacked, was punched several times during a confrontation with a group of women near a bus stop in Parliament Street, Nottingham, at 8pm.

The teenager got on a bus at the scene near the Victoria Centre shopping precinct but was followed by the same group, who it is claimed were threatening and abusive towards her.

She was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in the city and then transferred to Nottingham City Hospital where she was treated until her death.

The attack caused uproar in Egypt and the country's embassy had called on those responsible to be "brought to justice swiftly".

After the final guilty pleas were entered, the teenager's family also expressed their anger at the level of charges the six defendants faced.

Mr Moustafa described affray as "very weak" – insisting there was "strong evidence" the defendants should have been tried on more serious charges.

He said: "We are very disappointed with the charges pressed against the defendants.

"It was not and is not what we expected. It's unfair and unjust to charge those whom killed or, at least by their actions, led to (Mariam's) death with such minor offences.

"It is very weak. It is not fair at all.

"From the first day I was very upset about the charge. Affray – it's nothing.

"We had a big hope that the CPS would be more aware that the attack happened at 7.45pm and the cause of death, the stroke, happened at 10am, which is just over 12 hours. But once more we were let down.

"I'm sorry, the charge is very stupid, very weak. It's not strong enough."

Mariam's father said he was told about the final guilty pleas by his solicitor shortly after the hearing on April 16, rather than before.

He continued: "For respect, for the people who lost their daughter... they should have informed me. It is not fair at all.

"I'm very upset. All these mistakes – nobody respects me and my family. This is another failure in the case of our daughter."

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: "We have worked closely with the police to make sure Mr Moustafa has been kept updated throughout this process and are deeply sorry this didn't happen on this particular occasion. We have contacted him to offer a full explanation.

"We were preparing for trial in this case, two of the three guilty pleas were unexpected and we informed the family immediately.

"We have also met with Mr Moustafa to explain the charge of affray, the CPS can only charge if the evidential stage of our tests for prosecution are met. Our thoughts remain with her family."

Fraser, Hunter, and the four other teenagers will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.