An Oxford University law student who battered a woman has been found guilty of assault.

20-year-old Abdulrahman Abdelsalam was accused of groping 29-year-old Jeanne Marie Ryan while she was dancing with friends at the Plush Lounge, an Oxford nightclub. The jury at Oxford Crown Court were told that when Abdelsalam ignored Ryan's pleas to leave her alone, she poured a drink over his head. Abdelsalam punched her repeatedly in the face, breaking her nose.

After the attack Ryan told the Oxford Mail that Abdelsalam, who studies law at Lady Margarets Hall, told her to smile as he groped her, “expecting me to back down and cry". When she didn't, "he just got more and more angry". Ryan posted a picture of herself on social media after the attack, raising £3,000 for the Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre.

    Abdelsalam and his victim

In his defence, the law student claimed that Ryan lunged at him with a bottle and that he punched her three times in the face in self-defence. He was acquitted of sexual assualt, but the jury unanimously convicted him of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Judge Patrick Eccles told Abdelsalam he could face jail for the “serious assault”.  

Abdelsalam was helped into Oxford by The Brilliant Club, a charity which seeks to widen access to top universities for outstanding students from non-selective schools. Understandably, it has now wiped references to Abdelsalam from its website.
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Comments

Anonymous 03 July 15 11:15

From the Oxford Mail:

"Her attacker is described as being about 5ft 7in tall"

Explains everything

Anonymous 03 July 15 12:52

@anonymous user 10:15

To add some balance following your comment, it's probably worth pointing out that not all short men go around beating up women in nightclubs...

Anonymous 03 July 15 21:01

So is being 5ft 7in now a shorty?
At 5ft 9in I thought it was as pretty respectable
Most of the best scrum halves I've met have been around the 5ft 6 mark
Anyway regardless of size if you're a shit who thinks it's ok to hit the women, you'll be a shit for the rest of your pathetic little life

Anonymous 04 July 15 14:06

An unpleasant episode to be sure but it's quite clear it was Ryan who initiated an assault of some form. As a person of small stature it's not unlikely that Abdelsalam would come of the worst in a fight with a larger assailant and is he really not entitled to defend himself just because of his attacker's sex - in an era when we let women serve on the frontline? There is really no reason Ryan's sex should excuse her for starting this fight.

Anonymous 04 July 15 15:49

Abdelsalami, is that you? I hope you cool out in the slammer, say farewell to your legal career fucko

Anonymous 04 July 15 16:31

Really 13:06? So you obviously think this guy did nothing before she poured a drink over his head? And pouring a drink over someone's head warrants a black eye and a broken nose on the basis that he is not very tall and that some women are now enlisted in the armed forces? Have you heard yourself?

Anonymous 04 July 15 20:56

Nice 14.49 - casual racism! Are you sure your view isn't tinged by the fact he looks a bit foreign? The swarthy salami must be guilty!

15.31 You must lead a sheltered life. In the real world women have moved on from being the dainty little things in need of your manly protection.

Anonymous 05 July 15 16:52

19:56, 15:31 here, you seem to have mistakenly assumed that I offered an opinion regarding gender issues on the subject matter? I suggest you read my post again. Perhaps people who supposedly don't live sheltered lives should learn not to put words in others mouths.

Anonymous 05 July 15 17:17

19:56 Guilty or not, a 5'7'' shortarse with a Napoleonic Complex in a LGBT club grinding on an innocent female bystander deserves to be knocked out just for trying to pull chicks in such an establishment in the first place. Doesn't matter what race he is.

Roll On Friday 06 July 15 12:02

Some pretty lame posts here.

Race, height, class, what school the attacker went to... none of this is relevant. He repeatedly punched a woman in the face, breaking her nose - these are the only relevant facts. the idea that it was the woman who "initiated the assault" is laughable, are we supposed to believe she pleaded t be left alone and tnen threw a drink over him for no reason?