Iraqi man stabs UK student 'in bid to be deported'

Rebaz Mohammed was living in a hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, at the time of the attack

Rebaz Mohammed was jailed for six years. Photo: Hampshire Police

An Iraqi man stabbed a university student in an attempt to be deported because he had no work or money in the UK, a court was told.

Rebaz Mohammed was jailed for six years at Southampton Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and possessing a knife in a public place.

Mohammed, 28, was living in a hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, at the time of the attack, which happened in a park in Southampton, Hampshire, in December 2022.

Mohammed's defence lawyer Richard Tutt told the court his client had come to the UK illegally by boat but now wanted to be deported and needed to commit an offence that was serious enough.

Sentencing Mohammed last month, Judge Brian Forster KC said that the victim could have been killed in the attack.

He stabbed his victim who tried to run away as Mohammed chased after him.

The student was able to escape and was assisted by a friend after he lost consciousness. The friend called 999 and put pressure on his wound until help arrived.

A Home Office spokesman would not confirm whether Mohammed would be deported.

“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,” he said.