A US veteran has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for killing an Afghan man Mustafa Ayoubi, an Afghan refugee who was 32 years old, wa...

 

A US veteran has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for killing an Afghan man

Mustafa Ayoubi, an Afghan refugee who was 32 years old, was shot seven times in the back while yelling, "Go back to your country," which led to the sentence.

A US veteran was given a 55-year prison term for killing an Afghan refugee and being angry about his religion, Islam.

In the midwestern US state of Indiana, Dustin Passarelli was found guilty of killing Mustafa Ayoubi, 32, after a three-day hearing. He was also found guilty of several counts of aggravated assault.

At the time of the murder, which happened in February 2019 in the west of Indianapolis, Ayoubi was not carrying a weapon.

Ayoubi was shot eight times, and seven of those shots were in his back, according to a probe.

During the "confrontation" between the two men on the road, Passarelli followed Ayoubi along the main road heading to the migrant housing complex in the area. He then used anti-Islamic language, such as saying "go back to your country," before opening fire, according to witnesses.

Passarelli tried to defend himself by saying that he had an anxiety problem, which he said caused him to shoot.

Passarelli was not charged with a hate crime because he killed the man while politicians in Indiana were talking about a new hate crime law.

A few weeks later, the resolution became a law, making all acts linked to "faith" punishable by prison time.

"The Ayoubi family and the entire Hoosier (Indiana) Muslim community are shocked by this action," Marion County District Attorney Ryan Mears told local reporters.

He also said, "We can't get rid of this problem all at once, but the prosecutor's office will keep working to report anyone in our society who hates or shows hate."