Joseph Czuba has been sentenced to 53 years in prison in Illinois (United States) for the brutal, Islamophobic murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy. According to CNN, the court officially upheld the sentence handed down last February against the 73-year-old defendant for the attack, which took place near Chicago in October 2023. Prosecutors stated that Czuba was influenced by anti-Muslim rhetoric broadcast on a conservative radio station. The court confirmed charges of aggravated murder motivated by religious hatred and attempted murder, as the assailant targeted young Wadea Al-Fayoume and his 32-year-old mother, who was seriously injured but survived. The attack occurred just days after October 7 and the beginning of Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The victims, both Palestinian-Americans, were living in a home where Czuba rented rooms. According to investigators, Czuba first stabbed the mother a dozen times, shouting, «You Muslims must die». He then turned on the child, stabbing him 26 times. Wadea later died of his injuries in the hospital. Czuba reportedly justified his actions by claiming Muslims «could not stay» in his house. Then-President Joe Biden condemned the murder, and the Will County Sheriff's Office described the attack as «heinous».
