Second year jailed after vicious Plush Lounge assault on female student

Abdulrahman Abdelsalam may be allowed to stay at Oxford

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A second-year Oxford Law student was charged with “sustained assault” and given nine months in jail after brutally punching a female student.

Abdulrahman Abdelsalam’s assault at the Plush Lounge last year left Jeanne Marie Ryan with a broken nose and unable to continue her studies for a short period.

Jeanne raised awareness of the attack by posting a photo of her injuries on Facebook in the style of the #nomakeupselfie trend, detailing the horrific details of her case.

Ryan, an MCR student at Teddy Hall, was at the club when she was harassed by a man on the dance floor. After confronting the man, she says he punched her to the ground before beating her a further six times. Abdelsalam fled the scene, leaving her ‘bleeding profusely’ and with a ‘broken nose’.

Abdelsalam, from the Edgware area of London, was jailed for nine months last Friday following a conviction for an assault resulting in actual bodily harm.

Abdelsalam is technically still at Oxford

Jeanne’s #nomakeupselfie Facebook post, which detailed the horrific attack, became a viral sensation last year. She used the post to encourage people to donate to OSARCC (Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre) in support of her case.

In total, she raised almost £17,000 for the Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre.

According to the Oxford Mail, when sentencing Abdelsalam, Judge Ian Pringle said “You turned to her, becoming very aggressive, and said to her ‘I’m going to fuck you up’. She was terrified but had no time in which to move in order to prevent you from punching her full in the face.”

Barrister Toby Long, from Noble Solicitors in Wembley north-west London, proposed a community sentence, claiming the law student had behaved out of character and deeply regretted his actions.

Rejecting Long’s appeal for leniency, Judge Pringle said “I would be failing in my duty if I were to not pass a sentence today of imprisonment”.

A spokesperson for Oxford told Legal Cheek: “The university regards violent behaviour as unacceptable. Any student convicted of an offence carrying a possible custodial sentence is automatically referred to the university proctors.”

It is uncertain whether Oxford will allow Abdelsalam back in. But if they do, he clearly needs to brush up on criminal law.

You can find our more about Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre’s work here.