Borna Kazerani escaped a country that punishes homosexuality with death and now his sense of safety in his adopted home of Australia has been shaken.
WARNING: This story contains offensive language.
During a visit to a popular Sydney market one Sunday last August, the openly gay the Iranian-born filmmaker was met with homophobic slurs and fists.
“I wear eye makeup, so I was probably an easy target for these people,” Mr Kazerani, 38, said.
His attackers were a couple in their 20s from Sydney’s north-west. One was the mother of a four-month-old boy.
“They started punching my face, they shoved my chest and then I fell,” he said.
The violence erupted about 12:30pm in the Parklea Markets car park, according to court documents.
Mr Kazerani and a friend were heading back to his vehicle when a black SUV overtook them.
In the passenger seat was 23-year-old tradesman Cortez Solomon. His 21-year-old girlfriend, Paris Te Atahu Makene Stone, was driving.
After passing the pedestrians, Solomon turned and gave Mr Kazerani the finger. Mr Kazerani shrugged and kept walking.
The car stopped and Mr Solomon got out. Despite his girlfriend’s protests, he confronted Mr Kazerani about walking in the middle of the road.
“Sorry, I didn’t know this is a two-way roads [sic],” Mr Kazerani said.
“So what motherf***er?” Solomon replied.
Kazerani punched, kicked and hair pulled
Then came the anti-gay insults. Solomon called Mr Kazerani a “homo” and “poofter” before shoving him in the chest.
Solomon started punching Mr Kazerani in the head and face while kicking him in the testicles.
Mr Kazerani tried to push him away, and his friend began taking photos of his attacker and the car.
Makene Stone exited the vehicle and tried to separate the men by pulling on Mr Kazerani’s hair.
Mr Kazerani pushed the woman away, prompting Solomon to launch another flurry of punches.
Mr Kazerani fell to the ground and the couple kicked him in the ribs before driving off.
Police ‘short on staff’
He was left with a swollen jaw, dizziness and bruising around his eyes and nose.
Mr Kazerani called triple-0, but he said the police never came.
“That was the biggest problem because I contacted the police and they said they were short on staff,” he said.
He ended up taking himself to Castle Hill Police Station to report the assault.
Two weeks later, officers arrested Solomon at the couple’s home in Riverstone.
Mr Solomon claimed Mr Kazerani was the aggressor and told police he only assaulted him to protect his girlfriend.
During a police interview, Makene Stone admitted she kicked the victim in the stomach.
Solomon and Makene Stone were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Both pleaded guilty.
Apology for attack
In November, Solomon was sentenced to an 18-month community correction order and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
On Thursday Makene Stone was handed a community correction order of 15 months.
Her barrister, Varinder Pawar, told Blacktown Local Court that at the time of the assault, the young mother was undergoing treatment for depression after giving birth to her son.
But Magistrate Brian van Zuylen said Makene Stone’s postpartum depression did not justify her kicking someone on the ground, describing her role in the fight as “pretty cowardly”.
“I’m not sure it’s the right way to stop [the fight] by pulling out his hair,” Magistrate van Zuylen said.
Outside court, Makene Stone apologised for the attack and denied it had anything to do with homophobia.
“I’m very open with all that kind of stuff,” she said.
Mr Pawar said his client was “extremely sorry” for the assault.
“Something like that will never happen again and she extends her apologies to the victim involved,” he said.
Mr Kazerani, who also works as a language interpreter for courts, watched Thursday’s sentencing hearing.
He told the ABC he did not believe the assault was unrelated to homophobia.
He added he now felt less secure in Australia, which he regarded as “kind of” open-minded.
But Mr Kazerani said he was satisfied with his attackers’ punishments.
“It shows that if everyone stands up for their rights, especially LGBTQ community members, they can get what they’re looking for as justice,” he said.
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