An Iranian migrant has been sentenced to three years in prison for stabbing an asylum seeker 15 times in a “frenzied attack” at a migrant hotel in Oxford. Syed Barzegar, 32, was found guilty after the attack at the Holiday Inn Express in Oxford by a jury at Oxford Crown Court.
During the trial, it was heard that the victim, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was stabbed 15 times by Barzegar. Whilst the brutal stabbing was happening, the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, frantically told Barzegar to “stop, stop”. The trial heard that the victim’s shirt was covered in blood. Barzegar went berserk after the victim banged on his door following a drawn-out row between the pair.
Barzegar, who claimed asylum in 2023, charged at the fellow resident at the hotel on January 30 and repeatedly stabbed him, with seven blows to his back.
Throughout the sentencing, on August 11, Barzegar held his head in his hands.
Footage showed the victim stumbling around in a T-shirt drenched in blood, leaving red footprints on the floor at the Holiday Inn Express in Oxford in Grenoble Road, near the Kassam Stadium.
He required emergency surgery after the horror attack.
Barzegar tried to conceal the weapon by handing it to a friend, Oxford crown court was told.
Peter Du Feu, mitigating, said: “We are dealing with the infliction of really serious harm.
“There were 15 wounds. For the two years he has been in the UK, he has not come to the attention of the police.
“In short, but for the behaviour of the victim there is every possibility this offence would not have happened.”
Sentencing Barzegar, Judge Maria Lamb said: “The consequences of what the prosecution described as a ‘frenzied attack’ caused serious injuries which required surgery.
“Your victim undoubtedly ignited the situation and his behaviour was a trigger for what followed.”
Barzegar’s initial asylum claim was rejected by the Home Office but he launched an appeal.
Ms Lamb added: “Whether the deportation provisions apply is not a matter for me.”
A jury found Barzegar guilty of unlawful wounding and being in possession of a bladed article, namely a black handled knife. They found him not guilty of wounding with intent. An order was made for the knife to be destroyed.
They found him not guilty of wounding with intent.
Co-defendant Behroz Danandeh, 39, was found not guilty of assisting an offender.
