Riot hero sentenced for attack

A bereaved father who publicly appealed for calm hours after his son was killed in last summer's riots has been given a 12-month suspended jail sentence after being convicted of a roadside attack.

Tariq Jahan, 46, was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm following a four-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Jurors heard that he punched 34-year-old Sajjid Ali after the pair got into an argument in Handsworth, Birmingham, on July 6 last year.

The attack happened a month before Jahan won national acclaim for an impassioned appeal for peace after his 21-year-old son Haroon was killed during disorder in the Winson Green area of Birmingham.

Judge William Davis QC said: "People who break people's jaws in this kind of mindless violence normally go to prison but I take a view that because of his extraordinary position it is right to suspend sentence."

Addressing Jahan, he added: "There is in your case this extraordinary combination of events. For that reason and that reason alone I can suspend the sentence."

Jahan's sentence was suspended for two years and he was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also told to pay £1,000 compensation to Mr Ali within 12 months.