(ANAHEIM, CA – 9/10/2018) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today expressed satisfaction with a woman being charged with a felony accessory-after-the-fact in the 2015 murder of Shayan Mazroei, an Iranian-American college student.
CAIR-LA also called on U.S. senators Kamala Harris and Diane Feinstein to commence a federal hate crime investigation into the matter. The murder of Mazroei was particularly disturbing to the Muslim community based on the elements of hate that motivated the crime.
“We got here after three years of advocacy and working with people from many different communities and partner organizations that are often targeted by hate crimes,” said Dr. Niaz Kasravi, founder and director of the Avalan Institute, and one of the leading advocates for the Mazroei family. “It is important to our communities that the government hold people accountable for the harm they inflict based on one’s perceived or actual protected characteristics.”
On Sept. 7, 2015, Mazroei was a patron at Patsy’s Irish Pub in Laguna Niguel and got into a verbal altercation with both Thornburg and Tanber. According to an Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigation that relied on surveillance camera footage and eyewitnesses, Thornburg repeatedly spat on Mazroei and called him an “Arab,” a “(expletive) Iranian” and a “terrorist.”
SEE: Girlfriend of Man Accused of Stabbing Another Patron to Death at Patsy’s Irish Pub Charged with Being an Accessory to the Killing
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/09/06/girlfriend-of-man-accused-of-stabbing-another-patron-to-death-at-patsys-irish-pub-charged-with-being-an-accessory-to-the-killing/
Tanber – a former Public Enemy Number One Death Squad (PEN1) white supremacist – allegedly stabbed Mazroei repeatedly and fled in Thorburg’s car. Tanber was captured after a four-day manhunt. Tanber allegedly told authorities he had asked Mazroei, “Why do Muslims hate women so much?” before stabbing the 22-year-old engineering student.
Tanber was charged with one felony count murder with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a knife and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 21. His trial is scheduled to start on Jan. 8, 2019.
SEE: Orange County Murder Case Trips on Allegation Cops Drugged Suspect with Heroin
CAIR-LA Civil Rights Managing Attorney Marwa Rifahie said the hate speech the night of the incident, as well as Tanber’s statement after he was arrested, show both Tanber and Thornburg should be the subject of a federal investigation under the Hate Crime Act.
“According to the Federal Hate Crimes Act, ‘hate crime’ means an offense which attempts to cause bodily injury because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person,” Rifahie said. “Their statements before and after this young man was stabbed clearly indicate a crime committed based on more than one factor under state law.”
According to a recent report published by CAIR-LA and the other three offices that comprise the CAIR California Chapter, the amount of hate crimes reported to the four offices increased by 60 percent in 2017 from the previous year.
“These increasing numbers show the growing fearlessness of bigots and racists in committing these crimes,” Rifahie said. “This is why it is imperative for the legal system to call these crimes what they truly are – hate crimes. And they need to be prosecuted as such.”
CAIR-LA is Southern California’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-LA Communications Manager Eugene W. Fields, 714-776-1847 or efields@cair.com