South Bay woman seeks justice after being attacked for wearing hijab
MOUNTAIN VIEW – A South Bay woman who said she was victimized for wearing a hijab is sharing her story with KPIX 5, as her alleged attacker remains at large.
Atoosa Biglari, 43, failed to appear for her August 30 arraignment at the Palo Alto courthouse. Judge Brian Buckelew set the bail at $25,000.
Biglari was taken into custody several days ago. Her next court appearance is October 6.
She faces hate crime charges, after allegedly attacking Yasmin Abukhdeir, 18, who was wearing a hijab and walking along Castro Street in downtown Mountain View on July 1.
Yasmin said Biglari suddenly came up from behind with no warning.
"She tapped the back of my shoulder. She grabbed both of my arms. She pinned me against the wall. And then she starts to choke me," she told KPIX 5. "I'm like, 'Help me! Help me!'"
Passersby intervened to stop the physical assault, but Biglari continued with a verbal tirade.
"She was like you, 'You are a terrorist! You hacked me!' And I was like 'I did what?!' And she was like, 'You hacked me you're a terrorist!' And then I was like, 'I didn't do anything. Please get away from me!'" said Yasmin.
Yasmin captured Biglari fleeing the scene on a bicycle, while holding up her middle finger to the gathering crowd.
Yasmin's father, who was on foot, initially chased Biglari, but gave up after several blocks. Yasmin's brother Hasan, who was also on foot, continued the chase.
"The whole time I was chasing her she was like, 'You're not gonna f****** catch me. You're too slow.' She was looking at me, flipping me off the whole time as I was chasing," said Hasan.
Hasan, who is a member of his high school football team, maintained the pursuit for nearly two miles, while wearing black Nike slippers, known as "slides". Towards the end of the chase, a minivan driver picked up Hasan and followed Biglari, eventually directing Mountain View Police officers to her location, where she was arrested.
Hasan confronted Biglari one final time.
"I was like 'I told you I was gonna f****** catch you.' Because she was taunting me the whole time. I was like, 'I told you I'd catch you.' The weirdest 30 minutes of my life," said Hasan.
Biglari, whom the District Attorney describes as a transient, faces more than a year in prison if found guilty for hate crime and battery charges. Biglari also has charges against her for a June 24 incident in which she allegedly threatened an Iranian woman with a pair of scissors.
Hate crimes have seen a sharp rise in California. According to the State Attorney General's Office, in 2021 there were 1,763 incidents. In 2020, there were 1,309 incidents, an increase of 32%.
Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on Arab Islamic Relations, said hate crime laws are only effective, if the laws are enforced.
"I want to make sure that DA's offices know that the relationship between minority communities and law enforcement is already frayed, with a lot of questions of trust and safety. This is an opportunity for law enforcement to say 'We value you, we will protect you and we will fulfill our obligations to you.' And if they don't do that, then they shouldn't be surprised when our communities ask 'Why should we call you to begin with?'" Billoo told KPIX 5.
"We have no tolerance for those whose intolerance crosses the line into criminality and violence," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. "Hate has no home in Santa Clara County. We also commend the courage of the two women who quickly stepped forward to assist the victim. They are wonderful examples of the national campaign slogan against hate -- 'if you see something, say something.'"
Santa Clara County District Attorney Adrian Ferrari, who is the lead prosecutor, said he cares deeply about the case, and wants victims to feel comfortable reporting incidents.
"There's nothing that is a higher priority in terms of the case that I'm given, which is why I really would encourage people to try to come forward if they do ever face a situation like this. Because the only way that we're going to be able to stop this kind of behavior and prevent it from happening in the future is if these folks are held accountable," said Ferrari.
Yasmin shared her story to ensure law enforcement officials and the criminal justice system are held accountable.
"It's kind of failing me a little bit here. But if they do find her, I think that that would kind of help keep the faith a little bit. But if they don't end up finding her, and she actually gets away with it, I'll be very disappointed," said Yasmin.