Posted by Two asylum seekers have been jailed after they chased migrant hotel staff with knives because they didn’t like they food they were served.
Ibrahim Zouari, 35, and Houssine Nouira, 32, returned to the Roundhouse Hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, at 6.20am on April 17, 2024, and ‘aggressively’ approached staff demanding they serve them lunch that met their dietary requirements.
But when they were told it would not be possible as the kitchen was serving breakfast at the time, the pair ‘exploded’.
Tunisian migrant Nouira began the violence by picking up part of the breakfast display and throwing it at staff.
One worker admitted throwing coffee at him in retaliation which is when ‘the real ruckus began’.
Libyan migrant Zouari then brandished a chair before picking up a knife and chasing staff as he threatened them with it at one point during the five-minute disorder which was caught on CCTV and played at Bournemouth Crown Court.
Staff and other asylum seekers staying at the hotel – where multiple anti-migrant protests have taken place this year – were eventually able to calm the situation down.
Both men were charged with threatening a person with a bladed article.
Zouari – who has racked up multiple other convictions during his time in the UK – was jailed for 15 months on Friday, and Nouira had already been given a 12-month sentence in May.
Libyan migrant Ibrahim Zouari (pictured outside court wearing a black North Face jacket), 35, has been jailed for 15 months after he brandished a chair and chased migrant hotel staff with a knife
Tunisian migrant Houssine Nouira (pictured outside court wearing a black New Balance sweatshirt), 32, was sentenced to 12 months in jail back in May after he picked up part of the breakfast display and throwing it at staff
Zouari came to the UK illegally in 2022 from Libya, where he said he faced a lot of political trouble, particularly because his family were pro-Gaddafi – the brutal totalitarian former leader who committed serious human rights violations and supported terrorism.
He claims he was tortured in his home country and his brother was killed by militia.
The court heard Zouari had been ‘bounced’ from one asylum hotel to another before he ended up at the Roundhouse and had been there for around two months when the incident happened.
Stuart Ellacott, prosecuting, said: ‘They approached aggressively asking for lunch from the staff who told them that wasn’t possible as it was breakfast time they would have to make do with breakfast.
‘Matters got out of hand when Mr Nouira began the violence, picking up part of the breakfast display and throwing it towards the staff. The member of staff accepts he threw some coffee back, then the real ruckus began.
Mr Ellacott said Zouari can be seen on CCTV with a knife in his hand and armed with a chair at another point as well as chasing Vignesh Ponnusamy ‘on a number of occasions’.
He added: ‘Mr Ponnusamy describes he thought he was going to be killed, it made him feel like it was his last day of his life; they were going to kill him as no one could stop them.
It was a prolonged incident, there was a risk of serious disorder and serious alarm or distress was caused to the victim.’
The court heard at the time Zouari had a previous offence of theft but since this incident has built up several convictions for assaulting emergency workers, shoplifting and public disorder offences.
Lauren Matthews, mitigating, said: ‘Mr Zouari is frustrated and annoyed that he essentially went along with his peers. He does express genuine remorse and accepts responsibility for his actions.
‘Mr Zouari comes from quite a depraved background. He came from Libya, he tells me he experienced torture while in Libya. He said there was a lot of political trouble, particularly because his family were pro-Gaddafi.
‘His mother passed away some time ago, his father more recently during Covid and his brother was killed by militia. The only person left in his family is his sister, she is in a difficult marriage in Libya, that has caused their relationship to become fractured.
But because his latest offence took place before he was sentenced for the earlier offence in March, it was not taken into consideration as the magistrates issued their sanction.
Magistrate chair Paul Kemp said that although an assault on an emergency worker was a ‘serious matter’ he would issue a conditional discharge for 12 months.
Earlier this month, two other asylum seekers who were staying at The Roundhouse were jailed for separate attacks on a police officer and a doctor.
Afghan migrant Akmal Sifa, 23 – who entered the UK illegally in 2017 – ripped off a metal window blind and used it to assault a GP when he was refused medication in September.
He admitted assault and was jailed for seven months.
Sudanese national Khalid Mohammed, 22 – who came to the UK illegally in 2019 and has six previous convictions – kicked a police officer in the chest when he was arrested over a drunken disturbance in March.
He admitted assaulting a police officer and was jailed for seven days.
In the first week of October, three migrants from the Britannia Hotel were hauled to court for separate crimes.
Turkish migrant Halil Dal, 30, was spared jail after drunkenly stabbing a man with a broken bottle.
Days earlier, violent asylum seeker Shkar Jamal, 24, missed his sentencing for threatening a man with a snooker cue so he could eat fish and chips nearby instead.
And Kurdish migrant Hana Hassan, 22, was one of a 12-strong mob armed with machetes who attacked a shopkeeper in the town following a nightclub dispute. He was jailed for seven years.
Who Watches the Watchers? 