A man serving a life sentence for murder has been handed an additional 11 years in prison after breaking the jaw of a Jewish prison chaplain in a violent anti-Semitic attack. Joseph Gynane, 41, shouted 'Allahu Akbar' as he assaulted the chaplain at around 2:30pm on September 14, 2025, at high-security HMP Whitemoor near March, Cambridgeshire.
Attack on the Chaplain
Gynane, who converted to Islam in 2007, struck the chaplain from behind while he was speaking to prisoners. He punched the victim in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor, and continued the assault even after a prison officer deployed PAVA irritant spray. The chaplain was taken to Peterborough City Hospital, where he was treated for a broken jaw and a broken thumb. He told officers he believed the attack was religiously motivated, as he is Jewish and had been wearing a black Jewish skullcap at the time.
Graffiti and Previous Crimes
Following the attack, Gynane was moved to the prison's segregation unit, where he covered his cell walls with graffiti, including the phrases 'Free Palestine' and 'Death to the IDF'. He had previously been jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years in 2019 for murdering his friend, Mohamed Elmi, before stabbing a 16-year-old boy in London with the same knife just hours later.
Court Sentencing
Gynane pleaded guilty in March to a charge of racially aggravated assault inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH). At Cambridge Crown Court on Friday, he was handed an additional 11 years—six years plus an extended five years on licence—to run on top of his existing life sentence. With a minimum term of 30 years already in place, Gynane will not be eligible for release until at least 2055.
Sentencing, Judge Andrew Hurst said prison chaplains provide vital support and are 'valuable, cherished and should be protected'. He noted that Gynane clearly held 'anti-Semitic, florid and ideologically disturbing' views. The judge added that Gynane has a 'long record for serious violence, including stabbings', and holds an 'appealing record for violence within prison', with the highest number of assaults to his name at HMP Whitemoor. Describing the incident as a 'serious assault motivated by racial hatred', Judge Hurst warned there was a 'very high risk of future assaults' from Gynane, adding that he 'will seek to harm innocent members of Jewish community'.
Police Comments
Detective Constable Emma Purser, of Cambridgeshire Police, said: 'Gynane was already serving a life sentence for murder, but I am pleased he has now had his sentence extended by quite some time and has faced justice for his actions—which were shocking and despicable. The Jewish chaplain involved in this case was providing a valuable service and no-one deserves to be attacked in this way, with such strong violence—and especially not because of their religion. I hope this case highlights how seriously both police and the courts take offences of this nature, and serves as a deterrent towards anyone else thinking of committing the same behaviour.'
Background of Gynane's Crimes
Gynane stabbed Mohamed Elmi to death in an unprovoked attack in 2019 in Soho, London, and just hours later attacked a 16-year-old boy with the same kitchen knife. Mr Elmi, 37, who had suffered a traumatic brain injury from a previous unprovoked assault, was stabbed several times by Gynane in early March and died three days later. The unnamed teenager survived his attack. During the trial, it was reported that Gynane told officers: 'How many times have I got to do this? I have stabbed loads of people, they won't die. I have stabbed him fifteen to twenty times. I don't want to be out there anymore. I don't care if I murder someone. Everything I am saying is gospel, it's all true.'
