Five Newport men jailed for city centre street fight

Five men from Newport have been sentenced to a combined total of 10 years in prison after fighting with weapons in a busy city centre street.

Mehmet Aksoy, 52; Mazhar Aksoy, 40; Murat Aksoy, 28; Firat Sayak, 45; and Savas Sayak, 34, all appeared at Newport Crown Court on Thursday 6 November after being charged with violent disorder.

The incident took place in Commercial Road on the afternoon of Friday 1 August, when officers were called following reports of a fight. Footage shared online showed a group of people fighting with weapons, later identified as metal poles and kebab skewers.

Each of the five men was sentenced to two years in prison.

Police Staff Investigator Jay Clark, the officer in the case, said: “The actions of these people were completely unacceptable and there are no possible circumstances where this conduct could ever be viewed as appropriate or justifiable. Each of the defendants exposed innocent people going about their day to a level of disorder which they may not have previously witnessed. Violence is wholly unacceptable in Gwent. Regardless of whether an individual is from Newport, the Gwent region or elsewhere, those who engage in such conduct will be held accountable through the proper legal channels.”

Some of the men required hospital treatment for injuries sustained in the violent disorder, while misinformation spreading online wrongly described the weapons as ‘swords’ as videos of the fight were shared across social media.

DCI Neil Blyth, the senior investigating officer, said: “We did see a great deal of commentary and unsubstantiated claims that these people were fighting with swords based on videos that were shared online rather than first-hand accounts. There have been some inaccurate reports suggesting that swords were involved in this incident. However, our enquiries have found no evidence to support these claims. Incidents of violent disorder are, thankfully, rare in Gwent, and those involving swords are even more unusual. This case shows that it is important that people to think twice about what they’re reading online and look for trusted voices within our communities.”

Two other men, aged 43 and 28, received suspended sentences in relation to the same incident, while a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced at a later date at a youth court.