A homeless Kurdish migrant living in Britain has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 8 years for the attempted murder of a Polish mailman.
Brwa Shorsh, 24, was sentenced on Thursday at Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted in July of pushing 60-year-old Tadeusz Potoczek onto the tracks at Oxford Circus tube station on Feb. 3.
Potoczek, who was heading home from work, narrowly escaped death by staying on his feet and avoiding the live rail on the Victoria Line track. He was pulled to safety by a passerby just seconds before a train arrived.
Shorsh told officers he had pushed the Pole because he had allegedly given him a “dirty look” as he was walking past.
Remix News previously reported on the conviction and shared viral CCTV footage of the shocking attack.
“It is no exaggeration to say that this was an extremely dangerous criminal act that would strike fear into every traveler on the [London] Underground,” the sentencing judge remarked. “It follows a pattern of previous violent acts towards anyone who challenged you.”
Shorsh had a concerning rap sheet since entering the U.K. illegally in 2018 and was the subject of a deportation order, raising questions as to why he remained in the country. At the time of the offense, he was appealing the order following a string of sex crimes, the Standard reported.
Local media reported how he had been refused asylum in both Germany and France before arriving in Britain. He told Home Office officials that he had lost his identification documents during the trip to Europe.
Within a year of living unlawfully in Britain, Shorsh committed a racially aggravated assault and was jailed for three months. In the following years, his criminal record was considerable including convictions for assaulting police officers, threatening members of the public with makeshift weapons, and, in a strikingly similar offense to the most recent incident, attacking a female passenger on London’s public transport without provocation.
Life imprisonment with a minimum term in the U.K. means Shorsh will serve at least 8 years in prison before he is eligible to apply for parole.
He could, however, be detained far longer if the parole board considers him to still be a danger to public safety. Even if released, Shorsh will be under supervision for life and could be recalled if he commits any further offenses.
