TWO men have been jailed for what a judge described as a "distasteful and reprehensible racist attack'' on a defenceless man as he walked along the Lagan towpath in Lisburn.
Thomas David Finn (22), from Linen Court, Linenhall Street in Armagh, was sentenced to 14 months to be followed by the same period on supervised licence.
Scott Cecil McKeown (20), of Young Street in Lisburn, was jailed for nine months with a further 15 months on licence.
Both men had pleaded guilty to charges of "behaviour intending or likely to stir up hatred'', threats to kill their victim and assaulting him.
Finn, who was not long out of prison following another assault, also admitted assaulting a police officer.
Joseph Murphy, prosecuting, told the court on Friday that the victim, Tonderai Msonza, was walking along the towpath at around 3.30pm on Saturday May 24, 2014 when he encountered three men.
He said as Finn passed him he "struck him to the right side of the face with a closed fist'' and suffered a total of three blows.
Finn also shouted: "N*****, we are going to kill you.''
The victim pulled a branch from a tree to defend himself before eventually running to a bar in Bridge Street, Lisburn, only to be pursued and struck with a stick.
He told police he heard his attackers shout: "N*****, we are going to beat you up.''
After making his way into the bar, he was struck for a second time with the stick.
He was treated in hospital for minor injuries.
A lawyer for McKeown told Judge Patrick Lynch: "This is a bad case of racism. An unwarranted and unprovoked attack. But this defendant would have walked on past if his co-accused had not struck out.''
A barrister for Finn described the attack as "completely reprehensible'' and said the defendant had recently been found to suffer from ADHD, Asperger Syndrome and post-traumatic distress disorder.
