Updated 12/10/2010 12:02 AM
Two Brought Up On Hate Crime Charges Following Attack On Imam
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Two men were arraigned Thursday on hate crimes after an imam was attacked inside a Manhattan subway station.
The incident occurred on the northbound A train platform inside the Canal Street station around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Officials say Eddie Crespo, 28, of Staten Island and Albert Melendez, 30, of Manhattan pushed the 49-year-old imam to the ground and yelled anti-Muslim slurs.
Advocates say there's still work to do in order to combat intolerance.
"Still there are people who highly propagandized by what they read on the net which is completely, just illogical and incorrect about what Muslims represent," said Zead Ramadan of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Crespo and Melendez were arraigned on two counts of second degree robbery as a hate crime and one count of third degree assault as a hate crime.
They did not enter a plea.
The victim received some minor bruises, but refused medical attention.