A drunken Turkish migrant has been spared jail despite stabbing a man with a broken bottle and being accused of being in a terrorist group in his home country.
Halil Dal, 30, was caught on CCTV smashing a glass bottle against a wall before stabbing Kashif Chugtai, who suffered cuts to his back and was lucky his injuries were not "catastrophic".
The incident occurred outside the Camel nightclub in Bournemouth, Dorset, near where Mr Dal is staying in the taxpayer-funded Britannia Hotel.
The migrant fled Turkey, where his lawyer said he faced persecution for his political views.
Video footage of the attack shows Dal removing a bottle from his pocket, smashing it against a wall and then making a "stabbing motion" multiple times.
Security staff restrained him on the floor until police arrived.
Mr Dal admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was handed a 24-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
Under current Government legislation, the migrant is now not eligible for automatic deportation.
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The stabbing occurred outside the Camel nightclub
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Just days before, a fellow asylum seeker at the same hotel, Shkar Jamal, missed his sentencing for threatening a man with a snooker cue in a public place so he could eat fish and chips.
Prosecutor David Finney told the court the assault happened outside the Camel bar in Bournemouth at about 5:30am on December 14, 2024.
Mr Finney said: "He walks past the victim, then turns around and walks back.
"He pulls a bottle from his pocket, smashes the bottle and makes a stabbing motion towards the victim.
"He smashes it again and makes a stabbing motion two more times. Door staff then become involved."
Mr Finney noted that no explanation could be given for the "shocking" attack other than that Mr Dal was "in drink" at the time.
He said the victim told police he had been attacked but refused to give a statement.
Mr Finney continued: "He suffered minor lacerations to the back. Had we been provided with a statement from the victim, it's highly likely the charges would have been more serious, but it was felt this was the only charge we could prove.
The migrant has been staying at the Britannia Hotel
|PA
"It is the use of a highly dangerous weapon; a broken bottle is the equivalent of a knife," adding that the potential harm of the attack is "catastrophic".
Defending Mr Dal, Juliet Osborne said her client suffered trauma in Turkey due to his political beliefs.
She said: "Mr Dal is in the UK seeking asylum. He tells me he was involved in politics in Turkey. He was forced by police to become an informant; the police beat and tortured him in order to force him to do that.
"They raided his home and accused him of being a member of a terrorist group. His family helped him flee to the UK. Upon coming to the UK, he has felt hopeless and suffered immeasurably with his mental health."
She noted that the Turk was also suffering with his mental health and is "now medicated for anxiety and depression".
She concluded: "He is shocked and ashamed at his actions. This was a one-off incident. It is undoubtedly shocking, and Mr Dal is lucky the victim was not more seriously harmed."