Man Arrested for Racially Abusing British-Pakistani Driver in Viral Video

An unidentified 53-year-old man was arrested in Erdington, West Midlands, England on Friday afternoon following a viral video posted on Twitter on June 3.

He was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense, according to West Midlands Police.

The incident was caught on camera by 39-year-old taxi driver Abid Mustafa in Birmingham on May 15, BBC reported.

The racial abuse started after Mustafa picked up the passenger in Erdington. The White passenger made demands to sit in the front seat, despite precautions set to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

In the clip, the man can be heard calling Mustafa a “Muslim terrorist” and was told to “go back to your own country.”

Although Mustafa was calm in the video, he admitted that it was “not easy to keep calm” and added that he has seen this “quite often” especially in his profession.

After the incident, Dudley Private Hire and Taxi Association Chairman Shaz Saleem praised Mustafa for how he handled the situation and awarded him for his professionalism and patience.

“On behalf of WM Drivers Association, I’m very proud to award Abid Mustafa Ambassador of the Taxi Trade Award for his professionalism and the manner he carried himself whilst been racially abused,” Saleem said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“I have read number of comments where people have said Abid should have retaliated but the fact is two wrongs do not make a right and I assure had he retaliated he would have lost his license,” he added.

Mustafa reportedly worked during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to transport and deliver vital samples for the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Feature Image Screenshot via Dudley Private Hire & Taxi Association