A woman who was attacked by a stranger as she sat in a Sydney restaurant while 38 weeks pregnant has spoken about the incident ten months on.
Mother-of-four Rana Elasmar was dining with a group of friends late last year when she was viciously punched and stomped on by a man.
At the time of the attack, Ms Elasmar was wearing a hijab and the attacker was accused of spewing racist comments before he lost control.
Her unborn son Zayn was fortunately unharmed in the assault and was safely delivered the following month.
“That's the first thing you think of as a mother to protect your baby,” she said today.
On Wednesday she faced Stipe Lozina in court for the first time during his sentencing hearing.
Lozina pleaded guilty to assault, saying while he does not “get along” with Muslims, it was not the motive behind the attack.
He claimed she did not give him a dollar which infuriated him.
“I don't hate them, but I don't get along with them. I've got no business with them,” Lozina said in court.
The crown prosecutor argued that Lozina’s negative opinion on Muslims was borderline obsessive.
Ms Elasmar issued a strong statement to those who engage in violence against women and are Islamophobic.
“If you feel the right to physically or verbally abuse somebody who looks a bit different than you, then Australia's not the right country for you,” she said.
Lozina will be sentenced at a later date.
This article originally appeared on Over60.