A man who ripped a veil from a Saudi student's face as she walked through Glasgow's Central Station in Scotland last April has been jailed for two years, media reports said Monday. William Baikie, 26, admitted racially assaulting 26-year-old Anwar Al-Qahtani by forcibly removing her niqab in the city's Hope Street, the BBC said. Miss Al-Qahtani, protecting her modesty as part of Islamic teachings, had to use another piece of clothing to cover her face after the veil was ripped as Baikie pulled it from her. Baikie ran off after the attack but was later arrested by police after being identified through CCTV. Sentencing Baikie at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday, Sheriff Lindsay Wood told him that what he did was an “absolute disgrace”. He said: “The offense you committed was a shameful one.” “You are a man who has a number of racist convictions and you knew full well how offensive the act would have been to the lady,” Sheriff Lindsay told Baikie. The court heard how Miss Al-Qahtani had come to Scotland from Saudi Arabia to study a masters degree. According to STV, Prosecutor Iain Bradley told the court “This thoughtless, disrespectful act has had a very serious and profound effect on Miss Al-Qahtani. “She and her husband follow the Qur'an very strictly and it is highly offensive for anybody, particularly a man, to have sight of her face in public. “She now feels that she has lost her independence as she is afraid to go out on her own in case it happens again. She is effectively house bound as a result of what the accused did.” Defense lawyer Ken Sinclair told the court that his client was drunk at the time of the attack and can offer no explanation for what he did, STV reported. Mr. Sinclair said: “He appreciates that such behavior is totally unacceptable and he is deeply ashamed of what he did.”
