Brother of Polish immigrant Arek Jozwik killed by a single punch from a British teen reveals family is committed to living in UK despite tragic murder
Brutal killing of Arek Jozwik shocked the nation, but his brother Radek praised the community's support as they buried his body near Essex home
THE death of Polish immigrant Arek Jozwik, killed by a single punch from a 15-year-old who laughed at his lack of English, sent shock waves around Britain.
The brutal killing followed Britain’s vote to leave the EU in June 2016 as police reported a subsequent 27 per cent rise in hate crime between July and September that year.
But there was one person who believed the murder of 40-year-old Arek was NOT racially motivated — his own brother Radek, 37.
The teen, who was part of a gang, was sentenced this week — and today Radek reveals his family is still so committed to living in Britain that they have buried his body near their home in Harlow, Essex.
In a heartbreaking interview, Radek said: “This has been the most difficult year of our lives.
“Arek was my big brother. He moved to Britain to be close to me and our mother, for a better life and a job.
“He was such a quiet person and a good person. This shouldn’t have happened to him.
“There have been moments where we have thought about leaving the UK but we feel British and all our family are here.
“We buried him here because this is where we will all stay together as a family so we can light candles and lay flowers for him. It is what Arek would want.”
Warehouse worker Radek moved to the UK 13 years ago and married agency worker wife Sylwia, 35. They have two sons — Philip, nine, and Nicholas, three.
His mother Eva, 63, left Poland to be with them, and his brother Arkadiusz — known as Arek — followed in 2013.
Arek found a job in a sausage factory and lived with Polish friends in a shared flat where he liked to play video games.
On Saturday, August 27, last year at just after 11pm, he walked with two of his friends to a nearby pizza takeaway.
It was there Arek became the victim of a 20-strong gang which had become a constant menace in the area, smoking cannabis and intimidating passers-by.
One of Arek’s friends, who had been drinking heavily, fell on the pavement in front of the BMX bike-riding youths — described by locals as a “pack of animals”.
Radek said: “The kids started making fun of his drunk friend and he started arguing with them.
“I think one of the kids said, ‘f***ing Polish’ or something and they were making fun of their English, but that was all.
“And Arek didn’t do anything. He hardly spoke English and he was very peaceful so I doubt he wanted to get involved.
“One of the boys came up from behind and punched him really hard. He fell to the pavement.
“It was just one punch. I don’t know if it was the force of it or from hitting the concrete but he never recovered from that.”
In the early hours of Sunday morning police told Radek his brother was in intensive care.
He rushed to Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge and his mother flew back from holiday in Poland.
They held a bedside vigil but two days later he was dead. A post-mortem revealed he had suffered fatal brain injuries. The killing, two months after the vote to leave the EU, was labelled on social media as a hate crime against migration.
Hundreds of anti-racist protesters marched in Harlow. Polish cops patrolled the streets alongside British officers to reassure the public.
But Radek says: “None of us had ever suffered any racism. I never thought his death was race-related — I think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I don’t care about Brexit. English people have always been friendly and welcoming.
“Some of the first people to offer their condolences were our English neighbours. Without their support I’m not sure we would have pulled through this.
“They have made us realise how much this is home.”
But Radek admits that he is now scared to go out in his home town and doesn’t think this crime would have happened in Poland.
In Harlow there are 85 crimes per 1,000 people on average compared to 51 crimes per 1,000 in Lodz, close to where he was raised.
He said: “There are many great things about being here — great jobs, schools, healthcare and the opportunity to live a good lifestyle.
“But I think it is more lawless. A kid that young wouldn’t be allowed out so late at night in Poland.
"If the police saw them on the streets after 10pm they would pick them up and speak to their parents.
“I don’t go out at night in Harlow. I don’t think it is safe.”
He is pleased the youth who killed his brother — who is now 16 — was put on trial.
The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury at Chelmsford crown court and was given a three-year sentence.
Radek said: “He looked like a child in the courtroom. He was skinny and looked about 12.
“He was a street kid but I don’t think he meant to kill my brother.
"I think he was trying to act like the big man to his friends.
“I have had to watch the CCTV video of him killing my brother many times and each time I do it makes me feel sick.
“When it was played in the court my mum had to leave the room. It was described in court as a ‘Superman punch’ because he used the whole force of his body.”
At the conclusion of the trial this week, Judge Patricia Lynch said it was “tragic” she had to sentence a 16-year-old but noted he had fled the scene of the crime.
The judge described Arek as “a decent, upstanding, well-loved man in his prime”.
The youth’s friends claimed Arek and his flatmate approached them and hurled racist insults.
Defending, Patrick Upward QC told the court: “The deceased and his companion were staggering from drink.
“They made racist remarks, they invited violence from those youngsters and they were considerably bigger and stronger than the young people involved.”
But Radek refutes the claims, stating: “My brother had drunk a small amount of vodka on an empty stomach but he was not drunk.
"The boy’s friends claimed they had been threatened but Arek did not speak English so I don’t see how he could have done that.
“Also, the CCTV clearly shows he was standing with his hands in his pockets before he was killed.”
And Radek feels let down that his brother’s killer is only held in a young offenders’ institution.
He said: “Three years is long enough but I am disappointed that the boy was not sent to prison.
“My mum keeps crying and saying there’s no justice. She’s worried that after three years the boy will come out and kill someone else.”
But with the trial now over, Radek wants to move on and remember his brother in happier times.
He said: “I try to picture Arek the last time I saw him. It was the evening he died.