Cleaner Jailed for Knife Attack on Good Samaritan Chef

A drunk cleaner who viciously slashed a chef trying to help during a street dispute has been jailed for five years and six months at Cardiff Crown Court.

Ahmed Echemmeri, 40, caused serious injuries to chef Mahmad Azeze, who had stepped in to separate him from a business owner he was attacking with a pool cue on Cardiff’s busy Clifton Street. After being separated, Echemmeri returned ten minutes later with a knife from a nearby restaurant.

Judge Richard Kember told Echemmeri: “You got in a dispute with the business owner about that debt, and the dispute spilled onto the street. At 8.30pm, Mr Azeze — who wasn’t the person you’d had the dispute with — finished work at his restaurant, Today Shawarma. Mr Azeze, who is Kurdish, stepped outside and saw you hitting another Kurdish man with a pool cue.”

The judge continued: “You were waving the knife in the air and shouting abuse in your own language about people’s sisters and mothers. As Mr Azeze started to walk away, to buy a drink from another shop, you stabbed towards his neck. He turned around and saw the knife was close to him. He instinctively put his hand up and you struck again, causing a slight injury to his hand. You then struck to the arm and hand area, causing a more serious injury, with a deep laceration at the back of his right wrist.”

The attack left Mr Azeze unable to work and forced him to sell his restaurant Today Shawarma. In his victim personal statement, he said: “I have not been able to sleep. I have a nightmare about the knife. I am anxious and fearful going outside. I had to sell my restaurant for a very cheap price. I want to work so I can apply for a spouse visa for my wife, but due to my injury I am not able to work. I don’t know how long I will be unable.”

Echemmeri, of De Bawdrip Road in Splott, was found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a blade in public. The Kuwait-born father of four arrived in the UK in 2017 and was granted residency in 2024.