The killer of Henry Nowak should have received a longer sentence after 'abusing the privilege' afforded to Sikhs to carry knives in public for religious reasons, the Court of Appeal has heard.
asserted
Court → receive → Appeal
Vickrum Digwa, 23, 'repeatedly deployed' the ceremonial knife against Mr Nowak, 18, who was an 'unarmed and defenceless stranger', stabbing him multiple times with the eight-inch blade in Southampton on December 3.
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who → deploy → December
As Mr Nowak lay dying, Digwa lied to police that his victim had racially abused him and attacked him.
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victim → lie → him
This saw the university student arrested before any medical attention was sought.
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attention → see → ?
The killing later sparked unrest when police body-worn video was released showing officers handcuffing Mr Nowak, from Chafford Hundred, Essex.
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officers → spark → Hundred
In the footage, which prompted huge protests, Mr Nowak could be heard repeatedly saying 'I've been stabbed' - to which an officer replied: 'Don't think you have, mate.'
uncertain
you → prompt → which
Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years in June.
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Digwa → jail → June
But today he is appealing against his sentence as 'manifestly excessive'.
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he → appeal → sentence
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves, has also referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal as 'unduly lenient', with three senior judges hearing both bids to change the minimum term on Thursday.
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judges → refer → Thursday
Digwa is separately seeking to overturn his conviction, but a decision has yet to be made on whether that challenge can go ahead.
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challenge → seek → conviction
In written submissions on behalf of the Attorney General, Jonathan Polnay KC said that Digwa 'abused the privilege' afforded to Sikhs to carry a knife in a public place for religious reasons.
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Digwa → write → reasons
He said: 'The offender was carrying a substantial bladed weapon in public, immediately available for use, which he repeatedly deployed against an unarmed and defenceless stranger.
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he → say → stranger
He abused a statutory religious exemption permitting him to carry that weapon.'
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He → abuse → weapon
Henry Nowak was stabbed in Southampton last December and then handcuffed as he lay dying
Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced to at least 21 years in prison for murdering Henry Nowak
Mr Polnay continued: 'There were significant additional aggravating factors: the offender's sustained attempts to pervert the course of justice, his false allegation of racism against the deceased, his procurement of his mother's assistance in concealing evidence, his degradation of the dying victim by filming him, and his conduct in misleading responders.'
'The minimum term imposed failed adequately to reflect the combined weight of those features.
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term → stab → features
The hearing was temporarily paused after about 15 minutes because a fire alarm sounded at the Royal Courts of Justice, prompting the building's evacuation.
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alarm → pause → evacuation
Digwa watched proceedings from HMP Frankland in Co Durham, wearing a dark suit, shirt and tie.
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Digwa → watch → suit
Members of Mr Nowak's family attended the hearing in person, telling ITV before the hearing that Digwa being allowed to challenge his sentence 'doesn't feel fair'.
Mr Nowak's stepmother Katie Nowak said: 'It just doesn't feel fair to us at all.
'
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It → attend → us
It's another process that we've got to go through.
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we → get → that
It's another fight that we have to have.
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we → have → that
It's not right that he's allowed to do this.'
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he → allow → this
At Digwa's sentencing hearing at Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley KC said that on the night of the murder, Digwa had a small knife hidden from view called a kirpan, which is a strict requirement for Sikhs to have at all times.
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Sikhs → say → times
Digwa also had a 'large dagger in a sheath', due to his membership of an order of Sikhs called the Nihang, who have a tradition of having a second knife.
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who → have → knife
Judge Mousley said: 'The privilege extended to practising Sikhs of being allowed to be in public with a bladed article and, particularly in respect of the large dagger, a highly dangerous weapon, easily accessible to the wearer, brings with it huge responsibility.'
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weapon → say → responsibility
Mr Polnay told the court that the bid to increase the sentence 'is not about the lawful possession of a kirpan' and the laws allowing Sikhs to carry blades, adding: 'It is about what followed.'
He said that Digwa's use of the dagger was 'on at least one level, analogous to an abuse of trust'.
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use → tell → trust
Henry Nowak's father Mark Nowak and stepmother Katie Nowak speak with ITV News UK editor Paul Brand in the new documentary 'Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice' which aired last night
He continued: 'When a person who has the benefit of that accommodation uses the article protected by law for repeated lethal violence, that is an aggravating factor of particular weight.'
Imran Khan KC, for Digwa, acknowledged the law allowing Digwa to carry the knife 'plainly did not' allow him to use it to murder Mr Nowak, but also said Judge Mousley had 'already expressly aggravated (the sentence) for both the dangerous weapon and the abuse of religious privilege', as well as other factors.
He said: 'There must be vigilance for using the same underlying facts repeatedly.'
He continued: 'Simply repeating the points and putting them into sub-headings does not make the argument any better.'
Mr Khan also said carrying a knife for religious reasons 'should not of itself' cause Sikh offenders to be given longer sentences.
Challenging the length of the sentence, Mr Khan said while Digwa's lies to first responders 'unquestionably affected the dignity with which Mr Nowak was treated', his wounds were unsurvivable.
'The false account therefore did not worsen the fatal injury or deprive Mr Nowak of the prospect of survival,' he said.
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he → speak → survival
When the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr responded that it 'must have been terrifying for Henry', Mr Khan said: 'I accept that.'
The hearing before Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Nicklin and Mr Justice Wall is due to conclude on Thursday.
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hearing → respond → Thursday
Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, was sentenced to three years in prison in July for assisting an offender, after she hid the blade Digwa used to kill Mr Nowak.
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Digwa → sentence → Nowak
But 53-year-old Kaur is expected to be freed at some point next month after serving just one year of her sentence, as part of the Government's early release scheme.
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Kaur → expect → scheme
Mr Nowak's mother Lucy Ross told ITV: 'Mother to mother – she is no mother.
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she → tell → mother
We all protect our children, but we also protect our children from right and wrong.
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we → protect → right
But she never did the right thing.
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she → do → thing
She hid the knife, which had Henry's blood on it.'
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which → hide → it
The family said the timing of Kaur's upcoming release feels 'particularly cruel' to them, because the date is around the first anniversary of Mr Nowak's death.
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date → say → death
Ms Ross added: 'As soon as she gets out, she could arrange a visiting order to go see [Digwa].
uncertain
she → add → order
She's lucky enough that she could go and see her boy.
uncertain
she → go → boy
I have to go to Henry's grave to see Henry.'
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I → have → Henry
Mr Nowak's father, Mark Nowak, also said: 'It's an absolute disgrace.
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It → say → ?
Let's be honest.
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's → let → ?
She was convicted in May of this year.
uncertain
She → convict → year
She'll be out in December of this year having received a three-year sentence.
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She → receive → sentence
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
