Student charged with damaging Auckland mosques

Nizam Shah surveys the damage at the Ponsonby Mosque caused by vandalisim in the early hours of Sunday morning. Picture / Richard Robinson

An 18-year-old Manukau student has been arrested and charged with damaging six Auckland mosques.

The man appeared in the Manukau District Court this afternoon on seven counts of intentional damage and was then released on bail.  He was granted interim name supression to give him time to tell his family.  The defence lawyer also argued that publicity could effect his clients career of choice.

Windows and doors of mosques in Ponsonby, Mt Roskill, Blockhouse Bay, Ranui and two in Otahuhu were smashed on Sunday.

Walls facing the street of a Blockhouse Bay mosque were also defaced with the large black letters with variations of "RIP London", in what police said was an apparent retaliation for the London bombings.  The Blockhouse Bay mosque also had nine broken window panes.

Glaziers were repairing the damage to 32 windows at the Masjid Al-Mustafa mosque in Otahuhu this week, including six laminated doors costing $500 each. The glaziers estimate the cost of repairs at the Otahuhu mosque to be around $8000.


- NZ Herald