Mohammed, who had arrived in the UK illegally on a boat, was arrested at the scene and told police he had attacked his victim in order to be returned to Iraq. The 28-year-old, who has previously served time in prison, appeared at Southampton Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing a knife blade. Following the 'indiscriminate' attack in Hoglands Park, Southampton, last December, he was sentenced to six years in prison with a four-year extended licence. The court heard how his victim, a first-year student at Solent University, missed his exams and still struggles to sleep due to anxiety. Prosecutor Andrew Houston stated that Mohammed knew he needed to do something to avoid deportation and had spoken with people who were familiar with the immigration system.
He had previously been cautioned for criminal damage and battery and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for racially-aggravated harassment and stalking in May 2022. Mohammed, who lived in a hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, had been "making what efforts he could to be deported," according to his lawyer, Richard Tutt, but he had no work and no money. "He believed, based on what he had been told, that he needed to commit a serious enough offence," Tutt said. "He appears to be a very naive individual. He has felt remorse, or at the very least sorrow." Sentencing Mohammed, Judge Brian Forster KC berated him for the attack to "achieve his own end". "Anyone carrying out a knife attack is at the mercy of chance," he said.
"This was a random attack. Any one of our neighbors could have been a victim. "You were willing to inflict serious injury with a weapon in order to achieve your goal. You had the option of murdering the victim." The judge praised the victim's friend, saying he "might have saved [his] life," and awarded him £250. The government has promised to put an end to the illegal boat crossings that Mohammed used to enter the country. The government plans to detain and deport anyone who illegally enters the country, according to the latest policy announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this week. They will then be barred from seeking asylum in the United Kingdom for the rest of their lives. The policy has been roundly condemned as unworkable and unethical by Labour, refugee charities, and the UN's refugee agency. The government is "ratcheting up the rhetoric on refugees," according to Labour, and the plan is unworkable. Critics have pointed out that deporting someone is already a glacially slow process, and that the new detention centers will quickly fill up.
By Covenantblog
