A FISHPONDS man has been jailed for his part in violent scenes in the middle of Bristol, sparked by an anti-immigration protest.
Abdinasir Hussein was among a group of counter-protesters on Redcliffe Way when he threw missiles at the far-right group trying to get to the city’s Mercure Hotel on Redcliff Hill, which was being used to house asylum seekers.
The violence flared during a week of anti-immigration riots across the UK, sparked by false information spread online that claimed the killer of three girls in Southport on July 29 was a Muslim asylum-seeker.
Bristol Crown Court heard that Hussein, aged 24, joined the counter-protesters in Castle Park on August 3 before both crowds headed towards the hotel on Redcliffe Hill.
He was seen on CCTV throwing two objects towards the anti-immigration protesters in Redcliffe Way.
Hussein was jailed for 18 months on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to violent disorder at an earlier hearing.
Sentencing him, Judge Edward Burgess said that by throwing the objects, Hussein “added fuel to the already-caused fire.”
The judge said: “Even though you were not a central part within the disorder, you still contributed to this very violent disorder, which put members of the public and especially officers at extreme risk.”
Hussein was the 50th person to be arrested and the 34th to be sentenced in connection with the violence in August.
Detective Chief Inspector Tom Herbert said: “Abdinasir Hussein’s actions contributed significantly to the disorder we saw that day, as the judge clearly set out in court.
“We have made it consistently clear that we would not tolerate the violent behaviour we saw that day, and more than 30 people have now been sentenced, most of whom are now serving custodial sentences.”