Brothers sentenced to 6 years in prison for 'anti-Arab' attack against Mississauga father

Two men found guilty of aggravated assault for a brutal attack against a Mississauga man were both sentenced to six years in prison on Tuesday in a Brampton courthouse.

Brothers Janis Corhamzic and Adem Corhamzic were also sentenced to two years in prison for assaulting a friend of the victim who tried to intervene in the beating.

That time is to be severed concurrently with the six year sentences, which means each man will serve six years total for both convictions.

The siblings were remanded into custody following the sentencing.

Mohammed Abu Marzouk was severely beaten after leaving a summer picnic with his family near the Mississauga Valley Community Centre on July 15, 2018.

Diana Attar, Abu Marzouk's wife, previously told CBC Toronto that two men walking behind the family's car started shouting at them, "f--king Arab people! Terrorists."

Abu Marzouk spoke to reporters outside the courthouse Tuesday, and thanked those who supported his family and stood by him.

"I'm happy that justice has been served. It's a chapter in my life that I try to close — it's not easy," he said. Now, his family is trying to learn how to move on.

"It's a journey that we have to start," he said.

"I don't wish anyone to go through what me and my family went through."

Wife of victim said brothers were 'merciless'

When Abu Marzouk got out of the vehicle on the day of the attack to talk to the men, one of the men punched him in the face. Attar spotted a police car and ran to get help. But when she returned, Abu Marzouk was on the ground, bleeding from his head and had lost consciousness. The family told CBC Toronto he suffered multiple fractures to the face along with brain hemorrhaging.

In her victim impact statement to the court, Attar said at the time she "was thinking what has my husband done to deserve such treatment?"

"These perpetrators were not even connecting on a human level," she said. "They were merciless."

In his victim impact statement submitted to Superior Court in March, Abu Marzouk said the incident and recovery has been especially difficult as a father. He shared that it caused emotional distress for his younger daughter, stating it was  "painful to see the impact that my trauma had on her and to feel helpless in my ability to protect her."

Judge said attack was 'anti-Arab, but not anti-Muslim'  

In January, the brothers were found guilty of aggravated assault, but not guilty of attempted murder at a judge-only trial. At that trial, the court heard from a police officer that the incident was the "most gruesome event" he had ever witnessed.

He said he drew his firearm, because he thought the brothers "might kill" Abu Marzouk and did not listen to instructions to "get on the ground".

During a sentencing hearing in March, both siblings addressed the court and said they felt remorse, embarrassment and shame as they themselves are parents. They said they've undergone anger management sessions and that the attack was not motivated by hate.

Justice Fletcher Dawson said in his decision that the attack was "anti-Arab, but not anti-Muslim," though he acknowledged the hateful nature of the incident. Dawson said he was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that there was intent to kill.

"That said, this was a close case," he stated.