Mohammed Alfatih, a 40-year-old suspected Hamas terrorist who was granted asylum in the UK, has been found guilty of wounding a bailiff who called at his home over unpaid parking fines. The attack took place on October 14 last year in Fairfield Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham.
Victim Kevin Bucknall told Birmingham Crown Court how he could feel blood pouring down his back during the assault. He said the level of aggression shown by Alfatih, also known as Mohammed Naim, got "bigger and bigger". Mr Bucknall was unaware that Alfatih was on bail on suspicion of a terrorism offence when he visited the property to collect payment or seize goods in lieu of more than £2,250 linked to unpaid parking fines.
Attack details
In evidence to the court on November 3, Mr Bucknall described how Alfatih ran towards his van armed with a large kitchen knife in each hand. The enforcement officer said he had suffered a cut to the back of his head as Alfatih stabbed out at his vehicle on the opposite side of the street to his home. Mr Bucknall also said he did not realise a half-brick had been used to smash the window of his parked Citroen van.
Mr Bucknall explained that he had been unable to remove Alfatih's wife's car, which he had clamped, as a colleague told him it was owned by a finance company. Footage of the attack and Mr Bucknall's bodycam video helped to convict Alfatih, who insisted he acted in self-defence.
Court evidence
Describing the scuffle inside the property and the knife attack that unfolded yards from Alfatih's front door, Mr Bucknall said: "The front door was open – I made peaceful entry into the property. A female was inside with a young child. At that point the defendant ran in off the street. He basically started attacking me, trying to push me out of the door. I was trying to defend myself. I was saying to stop, telling him to calm down. He just wasn't listening."
Mr Bucknall added: "He was just escalating the level of violence. He started out kicking me. I managed to turn him, and grab him from behind in a chokehold. The level of aggression he was showing was getting bigger and bigger. I had my hand on his head to turn him away. At which point he was trying to bite at me. He then ran towards the rear of the property, towards the kitchen."
Believing Alfatih had gone to arm himself with a knife, Mr Bucknall exited the property, got inside his van and shut the door. He told jurors: "He has got two large knives. He has got one in each hand. He was like in a beeline straight to the van, to the driver's side. He had a knife in his hand. I have seen his right hand come upwards and in a downwards stabbing motion. I was trying to move over to the passenger side – the window's just exploded. My hands were covered in blood. I could feel it pouring down my back."
Aftermath
The victim, who was trying to exercise a lawful High Court writ, added: "It was a one-way street so I had to try and reverse back out. I was trying to stop the blood and phone 999 for assistance." During his evidence, Mr Bucknall rejected a suggestion from Alfatih's barrister that the defendant himself had been assaulted.
Alfatih, who was born in Bavaria and grew up in Gaza, was found guilty of wounding and is now facing extradition over a suspected terror plot to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Germany and Austria. The trial at Birmingham Crown Court was subject to reporting restrictions.
