Man attacks woman, then tries to break down door in Harlesden

Gulwali Stanekzay, 22, launched an unprovoked attack on a young woman who was a complete stranger to him and continued to punch her despite her pleas for him to stop. 

He was drunk and homeless at the time, having been evicted from an immigration hotel he had been staying in since arriving in the UK from Afghanistan as an unaccompanied teenage in 2016. 

At Harrow Crown Court on Thursday (July 6) the victim said the attack has left her scared to leave her home. 

At around 7.30pm on February 26 she was walking home on Minet Avenue in Harlesden when Stanekzay, who was cycling past, aggressively steered his bike in her direction. 

He abandoned his bike and began repeatedly punching her in the head and shoulder in an attack that lasted for a minute. 

He then retrieved his bike and cycled off before returning and launching another attack, again punching her in the head. 

Stanekzay said nothing during the attack, despite the victim’s pleas for him to stop. The attack only came to an end when a neighbour let the victim take refuge in their home. 

As she was inside washing blood from her face, Stanekzay was outside smashing up a vehicle in the street which belonged to a minicab driver. 

“They then heard large bangs as he threw himself at and kicked at the front door of the property. He also used a bike lock throughout to cause damage to the front door,” prosecutor Hannah Duta said. 

The homeowner began barricading the door to stop him getting in. 

From the safety of her neighbour’s home the young woman spoke to her dad on the phone, who came round the corner and saw Stanekzay attacking a car. 

Stanekzay then punched him in the face starting a scuffle which saw them both ending up on the floor. 

Her dad sustained a black eye, an injury to his leg and a broken tooth before Stanekzay fled the scene. The young woman had bruises across her face and upper body, including a swollen nose. 

In a victim impact statement, the young woman said: “I feel very vulnerable at the minute. I keep thinking about the incident and wondering what I could have done, or if I could have done more. I keep thinking about the future and whether this could happen again.” 

“For the first two or three weeks after the incident I could not sleep well at all. I would get around two or three hours sleep a day. The thought of the incident replaying in my head kept me from sleeping. I was scared initially that the attacker had not been caught. I still do not sleep well. 

“I also am wary about going out of the house. I used to love going out by myself, for example, going for walks. I was independent. However, this attack has taken my independence away from me. 

“I now feel I need someone with me when I go out in order for them to help me if anything like this would happen again. I barely step out the house after this incident and have noticed myself how little I go out. 

“I used to go out every weekend with my friends but no longer feel I am able to do this. I do not feel safe outside the house.” 

Stanekzay was arrested on March 1 and gave a no comment interview, before pleading guilty to two counts of assault and two counts of criminal damage relating to the car and the front door. 

At Harrow Crown Court Stanekzay hid his face under a jumper as the footage was played. 

The court heard that he arrived in the UK unaccompanied at 15 and was evicted from an immigration hotel because of poor behaviour. When he became homeless he then began drinking and smoking more. 

“On the day he committed the offences we are dealing with he had been drinking quite heavily so was intoxicated,” defence counsel Adrian Macho said. 

Judge Maya Sikand KC said: “I have tried to ascertain what it is that caused you to commit these offences.” 

“I’m told and accept that you have had an isolated and lonely existence here in the UK and have a somewhat precarious immigration status.” 

Stanekzay was sentenced to just under three years in prison.