Asylum seeker was deported twice before hammer attack

AN AFGHAN asylum seeker was deported twice before attacking three women with a hammer on Regent’s Street, a court heard.

Morteza Ahmadi was jailed for 18 years after targeting women at random as he made his way down the busy London shopping street before walking into a pub and ordering a pint.

Two of his three victims suffered fractured skulls during the unprovoked attacks, with one needing plastic surgery to cover a deep scar.

The rampage began when the 39-year-old, who was deported from the UK in 2013 and again in 2020, groped a woman’s bottom outside Hamleys toy shop at around 10.40pm on Oct 1 2021.

He then pulled a hammer out of his rucksack and proceeded to strike her over the head before making his way towards Piccadilly Circus.

Ahmadi walked 50 yards down the road before striking another woman in the face outside the Levi’s clothing shop. Next, he visited the Leicester Arms pub where he slapped a woman’s bottom before buying a pint and settling down next to a couple, who he attacked, forcefully striking the woman over the head with his hammer and hitting the man. He then calmly left, discarding the bloodied hammer as he exited the building into the street.

People quickly caught up with Ahmadi on nearby Air Street and pinned him down until police arrived.

But he was laughing when officers arrived and arrested him at around 11pm. His motivation remains unclear.

During an interview, he told officers he was drunk and homeless and that the police had not helped him.

Edward Cohen, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “These were violent, premeditated and unprovoked attacks on people just going about their day-to-day life in the middle of London on a busy Saturday night.

“They are lucky to be alive and will now be left with the mental scars of that night. A number of the victims have since reported social anxiety and one victim has even said she now fears standing up for herself in the event she is subjected to a violent reprisal at the hands of a man.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “Our new plan for immigration will deliver the most comprehensive reform in decades to fix the broken system and ensure that those with no right to be here are removed.”