Migrant who pushed postman on tube track jailed for life

A migrant man who pushed a postman onto London Underground live tracks has been jailed.

, 24, was sentenced to life imprisonment on October 10, with a minimum of eight years to serve before he can be considered for release.

He was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court after he was previously found guilty of attempted murder. He was already facing before the attack.

Shorsh pushed a total stranger off a platform at Oxford Circus Tube Station on February 3 2024, and into the path of an oncoming Victoria Line train.

The victim, 60 at the time, was on his way home from work and had walked past Shorsh who was sitting on a bench, when without a word, explanation, or provocation, Shorsh leapt up and shoved him off the platform and onto the live train tracks.

The victim managed to stay on his feet and a passerby helped him to climb back up onto the platform just as a train pulled into the station. The judge awarded the passerby £1,000 after commending his bravery and quick reaction.

The police attended quickly, but before they could arrive, Shorsh had run off.

He was arrested that same day and during his police interview, he said that he had pushed the victim onto the track because "he had given him a dirty look" which made him angry.

Maxine Jarrousse-Jones, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Brwa Shorsh attempted to kill the victim by deliberately and forcefully pushing him into the path of an approaching train. He intended to harm the victim and it is impossible to imagine anything that could ever justify pushing anyone in front of a train like that. If not for the victim's quick-thinking, the courage of the other passenger who came to his rescue and the speed at which the train driver brought the train to a halt, Shorsh's actions could have cost the victim his life.

"Commuters should be able to travel freely without fear of violence or harm and I hope this sentencing is a reminder that such acts will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted as fully as the law allows."

Addressing Shorsh, Mr Justice Kelleher said in his sentencing remarks: "It is no exaggeration to say that this was an extremely dangerous criminal act that would strike fear into every traveller on the Underground. It follows a pattern of previous violent acts towards anyone who challenged you."

Shorsh was first identified in the UK in 2018 after he had entered the country illegally, the judge also said. The man said he lost his identity documents after being refused asylum in Germany and then France, before travelling on to the UK. After initially being housed in Yorkshire, he moved to London in late 2018.

Within months of his arrival to Britain, Shorsh committed a racially aggravated offence of common assault and received a prison sentence of 12 weeks, the judge said. Between 2019 and 2023 he committed a further five offences of assault or battery, an offence of threatening a person in public with a bike chain, and three offences of outraging public decency.

Shorsh committed another offence in November last year, the judge said, which was an unprovoked attack on a female rail passenger.