Police in Ohio said that a man lied about being the victim of a hate crime and lied that he had been hit by a SUV because he was pro-Palestinian.
An Ohio man is facing criminal charges after he allegedly lied about being the victim of a hate crime involving anti-Palestinian slurs.
According to WKYC, citing the North Ridgeville Police Department, 20-year-old Hesham A. Ayyad came to a local hospital on Oct. 22, and told officers that he had been hit by a car in an incident that was « racially motivated. »
The next day, the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called for an immediate investigation into Ayyad’s claims.
« We call on state, local and federal law enforcement authorities to monitor and investigate crimes related to the rising Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, » Faten Odeh, CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Interim Executive Director said in a statement.