Beheading threats by Iranian set free in UK
AN IRANIAN man who went on to the streets threatening to behead passersby had been allowed to stay in Britain because authorities could not complete the paperwork required to deport him.
Noureden Mallaky-Soodmand, 41, should have been sent back to Iran after being arrested for carrying knives in London, but was simply rehoused 250 miles away in Stockton-on-Tees because Iranian embassy officials could not issue the required travel documents, Teesside Crown Court was told.
Weeks later, on April 2 this year, he ran on to the streets of Stockton with a curved knife specifically designed for decapitating victims.
He shouted: “I am Isis [Islamic Sate of Iraq and the Levant] and my people will cut off your b----, Christians.”
One of his targets, Stephen Daumler, 22, said the incident had left him suffering panic attacks. He said he ran for his life from Mallaky-Soodmand, who was caught by armed police before he managed to carry out his threats.
Mr Daumler, who works for a salvage business in Stockton, said: “I still wake up panicking and have dreams about being beheaded. I’ve had some really dark thoughts about what happened to Lee Rigby.
“I really thought I was going to die the same way as he did and I’m certain by the look in his eyes that he was prepared to kill that night.
“He was in the middle of the road but he came over and blocked my path and drew a huge curved knife and started yelling, ‘I am a Muslim, I am Isis’ – he was within arm’s’ reach.”
Mr Daumler added: “He had the knife raised and was waiting for someone else to come along. Thankfully the police arrived within about 15 minutes and took him down. It is pure luck that myself or someone else wasn’t killed.”
Even after police arrived, MallakySoodmand continued to rant, telling officers: “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you all … I’m going to chop your head off, and you up.”
Mr Daumler added: “The police told me later that the knife he was carrying was designed with the purpose of beheading people.”
Julian Gaskin, the lawyer for Mallaky-Soodmand, told the court that his client had been in custody then moved to a deportation detention centre in 2012, but because the Iranian embassy was closed, he could not be deported.
Home Office officials seeking to deport foreign nationals must normally procure documents from the deportee’s country to allow them to travel. Because of the lull in diplomatic relations between Britain and Iran, the Islamic Republic’s embassy in London was not fully functional when the attempt to obtain a passport for MallakySoodmand was first made.
As his trial at Teesside Crown Court was due to begin, Mallaky-Soodmand admitted making threats to kill and two charges of possessing offensive weapons, a knife and a wooden pole.
Jailing him for four years, the recorder, Simon Batiste, said the threats to behead were “clearly reminiscent” of Fusilier Rigby’s murder and that the offence was “racially aggravated”.