Jebina Yasmin Islam, sister of murdered teacher Sabina Nessa, has said the case received less media attention than that of Sarah Everard due to their ethnicity. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she suggested that if her sister had been white, the public outcry would have been greater.
Islam criticised Home Secretary Priti Patel for what she described as using Nessa's name for publicity, stating that higher-up people in government had been 'useless'. She noted that while local MP Clive Efford and the Royal Borough of Greenwich had offered support, there was no assistance from national figures.
Koci Selamaj was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years for Nessa's murder. He had admitted travelling from the south coast to carry out a premeditated attack on a random woman in Cator Park, Kidbrooke, on 17 September 2021. Selamaj refused to attend his sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey.
Islam expressed frustration at Selamaj's absence, saying she wanted him to hear the family's impact statement. She called for courts to have the power to compel perpetrators to attend sentencing hearings.
