A gang of illegal immigrants who stormed a high street armed with machetes and brutally attacked a shop owner have been jailed.

Hana Hassan, 22; Yosef Shaban, 24; Osama Qadir, 21, and Dawan Mantik, 28 – all Kurds from Iran and Iraq – arrived in Britain on small boats.

The four were part of a larger mob of 12 who ‘rallied the troops’ after a dispute in a nightclub days earlier. 

Kurwan Ali and friends were targeted in his Bournemouth shop by fellow Kurds in a ‘ferocious and frighteningly violent attack,’ resulting in one victim sustaining life-threatening lung injuries.

At the time of the attack Hassan was living in the taxpayer-funded Britannia Hotel, which was the focal point of local protests over the summer. 

The hotel has experienced persistent violence linked to migrant residents. Recently, a court learned that asylum seeker Shkar Jamal, 24, threatened someone with a snooker cue outside the problematic hotel and then missed his sentencing to eat fish and chips.

In a separate incident, a drunken Turkish migrant named Halil Dal attacked someone with a broken bottle while staying at the Britannia. Despite this attack and allegations of his involvement in a terrorist group back home, he will not be deported from the UK.

Of the latest group of migrants to be hauled into court, two of the men, Ahmed Omar and Rahel Omer, have already fled the country. 

Judge Paul Dugdale sentenced Hassan, Shaban, Qadir, and Mantik to a total of 22 years and remarked that their actions were ‘not what we are about in this country.’

He told the court: ‘The people of Boscombe just want to live their lives peacefully and do not want this sort of behaviour to take place.

‘People should be able to walk down the streets without fear. Such acts create fear within the community, deterring people from going out. This country is not violent, it’s a place where individuals can walk freely, and we aim to maintain that.’

The judge said their future ‘in all likelihood lies within the Home Office’. 

Winchester Crown Court heard the attack followed a row on January 27, 2024, at Bar So in the seaside town, just 200 metres from the pier. 

Following a dispute, the pair ‘rallied the troops’ and, two days later, returned with ten others, including the four defendants, to confront victim Kurwan Ali at his shop, where he was with three friends. 

There was then a ‘ferocious and frighteningly violent attack’. One of the victims, Sepan Qasim was stabbed twice, suffering a collapsed lung, whilst others suffered bruising and cuts after being kicked during the attack.

Local business owners Omar and Omer have not been seen since the incident and are believed to have fled the country to Kurdistan to escape the justice system. They had provided accommodation and work for the defendants.

It was confirmed that all four are illegal immigrants from Kurdistan and arrived in the UK on inflatable boats.

The four appeared at Winchester Crown Court charged with various offences, including grievous bodily harm, violent disorder and possessing violent weapons. Six other defendants had previously been acquitted.

Hana Hassan, 22, was sentenced to seven years in prison, Yosef Shaban, 24, to four years in prison, Osama Qadir, 21, to six years in prison and Dawan Mantik, 28, to five years in prison.

All four wore suits in the dock and showed little emotion during the sentencing, which followed a nine-week trial and will serve two-thirds of their sentence in custody.

Judge Dugdale said: ‘I have to sentence them for a variety of offences arising from a serious incident of roaming street violence on Christchurch Road in Boscombe.

‘It is clear that a few days before that, there was some sort of disagreement in Bar So.

‘Ahmed Omar ran a number of shops in the Boscombe area, which provide services to the Kurdish community.

‘Kurwan Ali also ran some shops in the same area which also provided services to the Kurdish community.

‘What the dispute was between these two gentlemen was about did not really come out in evidence but I have absolutely no doubt that there was a dispute.

‘Mr Omar was a surprisingly young man, aged about 21. In all likelihood, he had some standing within the Kurdish community. Him and Rahel Omer were the two primary men involved.

‘After the dispute there were a number of mobile phone calls between a number of people who were working for Mr Omar.

‘The prosecution used the phrase “rally the troops” and I have no doubt that the calls were getting people to support him against Mr Ali.

‘Twelve people went down Christchurch Road. Mr Ali was with three others. Everyone walking down that road knew that something was going to happen.

‘If they knew exactly whether it was going to be just a few words and a handshake or whether they knew there was going to be a fight, we don’t know.

‘It is clear that some in the group were aware that people were armed.

‘All four of the defendants were clearly aware that their weapons were going to be used. Mantik and Qadir were armed with large machetes. Omar and Omer were armed with knives.

‘Mr Ali also had a knife but that is not entirely relevant.

‘The four defendants in the dock were secondary parties in the incidents, and I accept that the injuries that were caused to Mr Qasim would have been caused by Omar and Omer.

‘There had been a rolling movement of the group along the Christchurch Road, which was clear to see.

‘These defendants were convicted after a nine-week trial. I accept that all four are previously of good character and are relatively young. None of them have been difficult prisoners.

‘All four had had a very difficult background history and start to their lives.

‘All grew up in Iran or Iraq as part of the Kurdish community. All four came to the country by means that are not seen as legal. All have suffered traumatic incidents in their past.

‘These are serious incidents. The people of Boscombe just want to live their lives peacefully and do not want this sort of behaviour to take place.

‘People want to walk down the road without being scared. It is not what we are about in this country.

‘It causes fear in the community and makes people scared to go out. People who carry out this sort of violence will have to deal with the consequences.

‘This is not a violent country. It is a country where people can walk freely in the street and we want to keep it that way.’