ANN ARBOR — Despite the main victim’s claim that slurs were used against her, ethnic intimidation charges will not be filed in the case of a 16-year-old Arab Muslim girl who was beaten by multiple attackers last month in Ann Arbor, according to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s office.

“There is going to be litigation that comes out of it, but there was not sufficient evidence to justify proceeding on that charge,” said Deputy Chief Assistant Steve Hiller of the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office about the case.

The ruling did not turn out the way that the head of the Council on Islamic-American Relations-Michigan (CAIR-MI), Dawud Walid, expected.

“Based on the allegations that racial slurs were used during the attack, we were somewhat surprised that there were no ethnic intimidation charges brought against the assailants,” he said.

“We’re going to continue to monitor the court proceedings as well as any further action that the Justice Department may take regarding the actual assault or how the criminal investigation took place in Ann Arbor.”

The attack allegedly involved five to seven student attackers according to the main victim and her 15-year-old brother, who initially defended his sister when she got off the bus near the family’s house by North Maple Estates in Ann Arbor and was attacked. The kids were returning home from their first day at Skyline High School.

The victims have withheld their names due to safety concerns throughout the process.

By the time the dust had settled, 12-15 alleged attackers, two of them believed to be adults, were involved, according to attorney Nabih Ayad of Canton, who is handling the case for the victims.

Four people are currently facing charges in juvenile court not specified by the prosecutor’s office.

Ayad said that the 16-year-old girl had her Islamic head scarf torn off and was called names like “raghead” and “dirty f***ing Arab” during the attack, which left her with six stitches on the upper-right part of her face.

Hiller refused to discuss the details that led to the prosecutor’s decision.

Ayad was also surprised at the lack of an ethnic intimidation charge and disappointed in what he perceived as a lack of equal justice.

“I’m extremely disappointed in the prosecutor’s office for not bringing charges first against the rest of the individuals (besides the main four) in this malicious beating and appalled by the fact that they didn’t see this as a hate crime and ethnic intimidation,” he said.

Ayad was perhaps more surprised by the secondary result of the attack.

“It was completely outrageous that the school principal suspended her and one other individual. If the tables were turned and the victim was an American girl beaten by 12-15 Arabs, I can assure you each and every one would be charged with a hate crime.”

A civil lawsuit will now be filed by the victims and the U.S. Justice Department will investigate the crime and the prosecutor’s decision in more detail.

Walid added that CAIR offered to provide sensitivity training at the school on Arab and Muslim issues but did not receive a return call.

The group has planned a meeting next week with the leaders of the Muslim community in Ann Arbor, who he said are extremely concerned about the situation and are supporting the victims.