31 July 2024 , 21:16
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A postman was just inches from death from electrocution and seconds from being hit by a train after being pushed from a Tube platform.
Tadeusz Potoczek, 61, was minding his own business on his way home from work when homeless Brwa Shorsh, 24, shoved him into the path of an oncoming train.
He narrowly missed touching a live rail on the Victoria line at Oxford Circus on February 3.
The train’s driver said that if he had been on the track just a few seconds later, he would have been killed.
Shorsh believed Mr Potoczek had given him a dirty look moments after he claimed three women had laughed at him for being homeless.
The Kurdish migrant denied that he had tried to kill him but was found guilty of attempted murder at Inner London Crown Court.
He was helped back onto the platform (Picture: British Transport Police/PA Wire)
Defence counsel Tim Brown told the jury on Wednesday it cannot be disputed that Shorsh pushed Mr Potoczek.
He also said it is clear that the defendant, who was seen smiling in the dock throughout the trial, has shown no remorse for his actions.
But Mr Brown argued that his client did not intend to kill Mr Potoczek, telling the jury: ‘(Shorsh) tells you everything. Exactly the same story. However unattractive, he’s told you ‘I don’t care what you think, there it is’. He has been consistent and always maintained he did not intend to kill him.
‘If he did, why did he not wait for the train to be on top of him? Why not stop him from getting off the tracks to safety?
‘Replace Shorsh with a relative or friend. How sure would you want those 12 people to be that he intended to kill?’
Shorsh had been sleeping rough in England, including inside Tube stations to keep warm, since 2020, the court heard.
During proceedings on Tuesday, prosecutors said the incident was ‘a random piece of violence’ against a man who ‘had done absolutely nothing wrong’.
On why he pushed Mr Potoczek so hard and on to the track, Shorsh said: ‘He made me angry and I hated him.’
Shorsh later told the court: ‘I am sorry for what happened. I did not intend to kill him and I am not a murderer.’
He said in that split second ‘I wanted revenge’.