'DISTURBING'
Christian preacher Hatun Tash reveals horror at being stabbed while in Hebdo shirt as counter-terror cops investigate
A CHRISTIAN preacher who was stabbed in a London park has revealed her horror at being attacked - as counter-terror cops investigate the incident.
Hatun Tash, 39, was stabbed in the face while wearing a Charlie Hebdo T-shirt at Hyde Park on Sunday.
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Ms Tash, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, said that she has been verbally and physically attacked in the past while preaching at Speakers' Corner at the park.
Speakers' Corner is known for being a place where people can freely express their opinions.
She collapsed with blood running down her face after being stabbed at the weekend.
Ms Tash said: "I am upset and disturbed by what has happened to me. I am asking myself if have done anything wrong?
"I am convinced I have not broken any law or incited hate. All I did was question Islam and I wanted to debate discuss and to tell people about Jesus Christ.
"Speakers’ Corner is a great place to do this, it is a shame that this has happened at the home of freedom of speech."
She said she believed the attacker's "intention was clearly to kill me".
Ms Tash added: "I can’t believe this has happened in broad daylight at Speakers’ Corner. You do not expect such things to happen in Great Britain."
She claimed a lack of action from police contributed to her being knifed.
"My attacker was not even afraid of the police as he did it right in front of them," she said.
"It is heartbreaking that we live in a society where police do not want to arrest a Muslim for fear of being called ‘Islamophobic.’”
Two weeks before she was stabbed, Ms Tash started legal proceedings against the Met Police over allegations of false arrest and imprisonment. Ms Tash is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre with her legal action against the police.
She claimed she was illegally held in December and again in May this year in relation to clashes with groups of Muslims.
Ms Tash moved to the UK from Turkey eight years ago.
In relation to Ms Tash's claims, a Met Police spokesman said: "We can confirm the MPS is in receipt of a claim made by a woman in her 30s in relation to interaction with police on two occasions.
"It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."
The force also confirmed no arrests have been made.
It is heartbreaking that we live in a society where police do not want to arrest a Muslim for fear of being called ‘Islamophobic’
Hatun Tash
A video of the stabbing filmed by a witness shows a large group of people standing in the park.
Suddenly a man runs towards Ms Tash and stabs her before fleeing in the opposite direction.
Officers then arrive and help the victim, while others chase the attacker.
The man filming the clip says: “What did I just witness, oh my God.”
Cops said Ms Tash sat inside a police van before being driven to hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
The attacker, dressed in black, sprinted off after the stabbing, with police and members of the public chasing him.
Officers recovered a knife near the scene of the attack, but no arrests have been made so far.
Met Police launched an appeal for information following the assault.
The force said in a statement: “Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 3.34pm on Sunday to reports of an assault at Speakers’ Corner.
“Officers attended and found a 39-year-old woman suffering from a minor slash injury to her head.
“She was treated at the scene by the LAS before being taken to a central London hospital.
“Her injuries are not life-threatening. Following a search of the area, a knife was recovered nearby.
“Officers based in Westminster are working alongside colleagues from the Royal Parks OCU to investigate and identify the person responsible.”
Detective Superintendent Alex Bingley said: “This was clearly a very distressing incident for the woman involved and officers have spent time with her, whilst she was being treated for her injury, to get an account of what happened.
“We know that this assault was witnessed by a number of people, many of whom captured it on their phones. I would ask them, if they have not already done so, to contact police.
“We remain in the early stages of our investigation and are working hard to trace the person responsible. I would ask people not to speculate on the motive for the attack until we have established the full facts.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or @MetCC quoting reference Cad 4376/25Jul.
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Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical weekly magazine. In 2015, 12 employees were killed in an attack by extremist brothers Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi.
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The attackers said the magazine had used blasphemy by publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to stir up hatred against Muslims around the world.
Earlier this year, Charlie Hebdo caused more controversy after using George Floyd’s death to mock the Queen and Meghan Markle’s racism concerns.
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