By Ashley Young-
Dramatic video footage has captured the moment an Iraqi man stabbed a university student in a bid to get deported because he had no work or money in the UK.
Rebaz Mohammed(pictured) was jailed for six years at Southampton Crown Court over the incident in a park in Southampton in December last year.
The 28-year-old had pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and possessing a knife in a public place in connection with the attack.
The Crown Prosecution Service released the footage, which shows Mohammed, who was living in a hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, speaking to the student before stabbing him.
The Iraqi can be seen approaching the student shortly before the savage attack, speaking to him briefly and asking if he knew kickboxing before swinging at him.
Mr Wheeler managed to run away but passed out before being rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery. The victim managed to get away and Mohammed chased after him.
Mohammed, who came to the UK illegally on a small boat, was arrested at the scene and told police he had attacked his victim so he could be sent home to Iraq.
The 28-year-old, who has previously served a prison term, appeared at Southampton Crown Court after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing a knife.
He was sentenced to six years imprisonment with a four year extended licence following the ‘indiscriminate’ attack in Hoglands Park, Southampton, Hants, last Decembe
Mohammed’s defence counsel, Richard Tutt, told the court that his client had come to the UK by boat but then wanted to be deported and needed to commit an offence that was serious enough, according to a report in the Southern Daily Echo.
Desperate migrants still prepared to risk their lives on small boats – and smugglers appear undeterred.
Mohammed stabbed a university student in a bid to be deported because he had no work or money in the UK. Issue date: Thursday March 9, 2023.
Judge Brian Forster KC said the victim could have been killed in the attack as he sentenced Mohammed last month.
A Home Office spokesman would not confirm whether Mohammed would be deported as he could not discuss individual cases.
He added: “Foreign national offenders who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes will face the full force of the law, including deportation at the earliest opportunity for those eligible.”