Two men were left in a critical condition with one stabbed in the fight, which broke out in Boundary Road, Portslade, and involved wooden planks and a metal torch.
Brighton Crown Court heard the violence erupted on the afternoon of April 2, 2024, when a group from K Barbers, Boundary Road, Hove, and a group from HB Barbers, Station Road, Portslade, clashed in the street.
Judge Stephen Mooney said the scale of violence was like “nothing he had seen before” and those involved “behaved like animals”.
Three men were found guilty of their part in the incident in December.
Ayob Mohammed, 21, of Western Road, Brighton, was found guilty of violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.
Sardam Qadir, 31, of Blacksail Walk, Oldham, was found guilty of violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.
Sarbast Ibrahimi, 25, of Somerhill Avenue, Hove, was found guilty of violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.
Today, February 25, the three defendants were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court.
The Crown Prosecution highlighted the trio’s use of weapons in the incident, with Mohammed using a metal torch and Qadir and Ibrahimi using wooden planks.
The area was cordoned off (Image: The Argus/Andrew Gardner) It was also stated that Qadir and Ibrahimi had travelled down to Portslade as “reinforcements”.
Prosecutor Ryan Evans said: “It caused a busy main road and road junction to be closed.
“There are a number of injuries caused to those involved.
“The incident occurred in a very busy public area.”
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Judge Stephen Mooney noted that the incident occurred at 2pm in the presence of “children, old age pensioners” and “people in wheelchairs”.
Mr Evans also listed the injuries to the defendants, the worst of which were sustained by Ibrahimi, who suffered a 25cm-long laceration to his arm and a stab wound that went to the bone.
The court heard that Ibrahimi underwent surgery and is still impacted by his injuries today.
Defending Mohammed, counsel Lydia Stevens stated that the defendant had “completed 360 hours of voluntary work while studying health and social care in 2015”.
Police at the scene of the fight (Image: The Argus/Andrew Gardner) She added that he is “extremely remorseful” and referenced his age of 20 years at the time of the incident as a mitigating factor.
She added that Mohammed came from a “very difficult and deprived background”.
Ignatius Fessal spoke in defence of Qadir.
He said: “He came from a troubled background. He is from a part of the world that is in instability, conflict.
“He fled from all of that to come to the UK.
“He has grasped all the opportunities that this country allows with both hands.
“He was a person who had never offended before.
“He is genuinely ashamed that he has lost that good character.”
Police collecting evidence (Image: The Argus/Andrew Gardner) Jonathan Ray acted as defence for Ibrahimi and began by thanking a woman who assisted the defendant at the scene with his injuries by administering first aid.
Mr Ray said: “He is a man of good character.
“He acted through misguided loyalty.”
He referred to character references that were read to the jury in the course of the trial, adding that they show “what sort of person he is and not the stupid person he was on that day”.
Judge Mooney noted that the defendants were “all spectacularly well-behaved” during the trial.
Judge Mooney said: “They were all thoroughly decent young men who had a particularly difficult time.
“Their behaviour was absolutely awful. Dangerous, disgraceful, appalling behaviour.”
Judge Mooney ruled that Ibrahimi was the “instigator” of the altercation.
He said: “None of us would be here now if he had not done what he did.
“He made violence inevitable.
“Nothing was going to stop you.”
In his summing up of the case, Judge Mooney said: “It was early afternoon of April 2 last year when the peace and quiet to those going about their normal business in Portslade was completely shattered.
“People in shops were met by a scene of carnage.
“People in wheelchairs making their way along the street saw people brandishing weapons.
“Children were exposed to levels of violence which they should never be exposed to.
“It was horrific.
“It’s very difficult to understand how this level of violence came to pass.”
Judge Mooney added that the scale of violence was something he had “never seen before and hope never to see again”.
He said the defendants had “behaved like animals”.
Mohammed was sentenced to 18 months in prison, Qadir two years and Ibrahimi two years and nine months.
Victim surcharges of £500 each were ordered to be paid to a woman who gave first aid to the defendants and an anonymous person, named Witness X, who provided video footage for the trials.
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