Canadian prime minister condemns 'appalling' attack on Muslim man

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday denounced an Islamophobic hate attack on a Muslim man in northern Toronto.

"The attack on a Muslim man in Markham late last month is appalling," Carney said on the US social media company X's platform.

Stressing that "acts of violence and Islamophobia have no place in Canada," he said: "The authorities have my full support as they work to bring the perpetrator to justice."

In late September, a 54-year-old man working as a night auditor at a hotel in Markham, Toronto was asked about his ethnic and religious background by two customers.

One of the customers left the hotel but later came back and allegedly attacked the hotel worker, who had told them that he is Muslim.

The Muslim man was left with life-altering injuries.

"The Hate Crime Prevention Unit has charged a Toronto man following a violent, hate-motivated assault on a hotel employee in the City of Markham," local police said in a statement.

The police revealed the suspect's name as 31-year-old Geethansan Sriranjan, who "told the victim he was going to kill him and chased him to a room, where he was violently assaulted."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also denounced the vicious attack, calling it "completely unacceptable."

"Our government stands with Ontario's Muslim community and will always fight back against Islamophobia in all its forms," he said on X.