From Cambs News
A convicted killer who murdered a man in London before stabbing a teenage boy hours later has had his jail term extended after carrying out what a judge described as a “serious assault motivated by racial hatred” inside a Cambridgeshire prison.
Joe (Joseph) Gynane, 41, attacked a Jewish chaplain visiting HMP Whitemoor on September 14 last year, shouting “Allah Akbar” before launching a violent assault.
Cambridge Crown Court heard the chaplain had been speaking with prisoners on the top floor landing of the prison shortly before 2.30pm when Gynane struck from behind.
The inmate punched the victim to the back of the head with such force he was knocked to the floor before continuing the attack as prison officers attempted to restrain him.
Even after a prison officer used PAVA spray, Gynane continued punching the chaplain before finally stopping.
The victim was taken to another part of the prison for treatment before later attending Peterborough City Hospital, where checks revealed he had suffered a broken jaw and a broken thumb.
The chaplain later told officers he believed the assault was religiously motivated because he was Jewish and had been wearing a black skull cap at the time of the attack.
Following the assault, Gynane was moved to the segregation unit at HMP Whitemoor, near March, where he covered his cell in graffiti including the phrases “free Palestine” and “Death to the IDF”.
At Cambridge Crown Court today (May 1), Judge Andrew Hurst sentenced him to an additional 11 years on top of his existing life sentence.
However, because Gynane is already serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years for murder, he will not be eligible for release until at least 2055.
During sentencing, Judge Hurst said prison chaplains provided vital support for inmates and should be protected. He told the court they were “valuable, cherished and should be protected”.
The judge said Gynane, who converted to Islam in 2007, held “antisemitic, florid and ideologically disturbing” views.
Judge Hurst warned Gynane posed a continuing danger.
He said there was a “very high risk of future assaults” and added the inmate “will seek to harm innocent members of Jewish community”.
