After an assault that he says is costing him sleep and peace of mind, activist/author Ifti Nasim said he feels he is being victimized all over again by Chicago police, who have decided not to recommend hate-crime charges in the incident.
But officers say they're just doing what the law allows, and that the community's frustration would be better directed at legislators, not the Police Department.
The Cook County State's Attorney's office will make the final decision on whether hate-crime charges are filed, and a spokesman indicated that as of right now, it doesn't appear that that will happen.
John Gorman, spokesman for the state's attorney, said the current investigation contains "no elements of a hate crime." That evaluation could change if the investigation yields different details, he said.
On March 12, Nasim was at Shan restaurant, 5060 N. Sheridan, when a fellow patron began railing against him for an article he'd written in a Pakistani community newspaper. The suspect, Salman Aftab, allegedly told Nasim he had no right to write the things he'd written because he's gay.
Calling him a "faggot bottom" in Urdu, Aftab allegedly threatened to stab Nasim in the butt and ran toward the eatery's kitchen. He returned and was restrained by two friends, as Nasim ran to call the police on his cell phone.
Officers arrived, as did Sgt. Mary Boyle, and Aftab was cuffed and placed in a squad car.
Nasim considered the humiliation of being restrained and handcuffed enough punishment for Aftab, and he asked officers to let him go. "I was so scared of him," Nasim said. "I didn't want to press charges."
But officers arrested Aftab over Nasim's objections, and Nasim said Aftab's friends pled with him for help. He was eventually persuaded to go to the station to help bail the man out.
"I was really trying to make amends with him," Nasim said.
Aftab was released, and Nasim has alleged that he threatened him again outside the police station, saying, "I am going to finish the job which I started."
That changed things for Nasim, who said he now wants to see Aftab prosecuted. His court date has been set for May 1.
That Nasim initially didn't want to see his attacker arrested and that he helped to bail him out weighed against hate-crime charges being filed, said Chicago Police GLBT liaison Lori Cooper.
And, she emphasized, the law simply won't allow for them.
"We can't demand hate-crime charges be brought in something if it's not the law," she said, adding that the incident is "a classic case of mixed motive."
Under the law, hate must be the primary motive in a crime for hate-crime charges to be filed, she said. She maintained that the primary motive for the attack on Nasim was the article he'd written.
Gorman, of the state's attorney's office, also said that Nasim was apparently targeted for his writings.
To that, Nasim said, "I'm getting 'penil-ized' by the police now ... I'm getting gay-bashed by my own people."
Also hurting Nasim's case were initial accounts of the incident that had Aftab lunging at him with a knife. It was subsequently discovered that Nasim never saw a knife.
"If someone says they're going to get a knife, you don't wait around. You run for your life, which is what I did," Nasim said.
The fact that no weapon was used means the case is being prosecuted as a simple assault.
The Chicago Anti-Bashing Network has taken up Nasim's case and is pressing for hate-crime charges.
"Charges ought to be filed and let the judge decide," said CABN member Bob Schwartz.
CABN plans to attend the next meeting of the mayor's Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues to urge the group to call for charges. The next ACGLI meeting is at 6:30 April 18 in Room 201A of City Hall. The meetings are open to the public.CABN has also approached the American Civil Liberties Union.