THE son of an Oxford city councillor has been convicted of two assaults following attacks by a gang in East Oxford.

Omer Hussain, 20, of Cowley Road, denied two charges of causing actual bodily harm at Oxford Crown Court but was convicted by a jury following a two-week trial.

His father, Sabir-Hussain Mirza, is a former chairman of the Oxford Central Mosque, in Manzil Way, and is a Labour councillor for the Lye Valley ward.

The trial also saw Afraz Iqbal, 21, of Magdalen Road, convicted of one charge of causing actual bodily harm, while two other men were acquitted.

Hussain and Iqbal were released on bail to be sentenced at a later date.

The charges relate to two incidents in October 2008.

On October 13, 18-year-old Abdullah Ghafoor was set upon by a group of men as he walked along James Wolfe Road, off Hollow Way, in Cowley, at 3.45pm, the jury heard.

Passengers, including Hussain, got out of a car and punched and kicked Mr Ghafoor. The victim said he was beaten with weapons including a golf club and a baseball bat.

On the afternoon of October 31, a 14-year-old Afghan boy was set upon by a gang in Cowley Marsh Park.

The victim told the court Iqbal punched him and Hussain hit him with a baseball bat, while others in the group had cricket bats.

Former Cheney School pupil Hussain, who is now studying law at Ruskin College, was stopped by police immediately after the second attack but said he and some friends had been playing cricket after Friday prayers.

Mr Mirza, who has previously spoken out against gang violence in East Oxford, was present throughout the trial but did not comment before the Oxford Mail went to press last night.

Insp Graham Sutherland said: “This was an isolated incident that does not reflect the relationships between the different communities that live in the area.

“Throughout this investigation, we worked closely with the community to bring those responsible before the courts.”

During the trial, which ended on Friday, jurors were shown a Bebo webpage belonging to a group of young Afghans calling themselves Oxford Souljahz and proclaiming ‘we own Oxford’.

Pictures on the site show one youth holding up guns, which the jury were told fired ball-bearings.

There have been a number of other gang clashes in the streets of Oxford in the past two years, including a brawl involving dozens of teenagers shortly after the Cowley Road Fringe Festival last July.