An arrest warrant has been issued for a 29-year-old asylum seeker from Jordan after he failed to return from a lunch break during his hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court.
Mustafa Al Mbaidin had appeared before the court for a Newton hearing to establish the facts of his offending, having already admitted a wounding charge relating to an attack on a man in January 2025.
The defendant had been granted bail on the strict condition that he remain within the court building and its car park during the recess. When proceedings were due to resume, he was nowhere to be found.
Judge Kerry Maylin subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest.
The violent incident occurred on 24 January 2025 in Southbourne, Dorset, where Al Mbaidin and his friend Muhammed Al-Aseel had been assisting Sophie Burnett with moving into her new property.
Prosecutor John Dyer outlined how the defendant had consumed alcohol throughout the day, with Mr Al-Aseel telling the court that champagne had been drunk.
When Al Mbaidin began making unwanted advances towards Ms Burnett, she requested that he leave. As Mr Al-Aseel attempted to persuade him to go, the defendant turned aggressive.
The court heard that Al Mbaidin headbutted the victim, placed him in a headlock, then struck him around the head with both a bottle and a metal kettle with such force that the kettle was left dented.
The man was nowhere to be seen after lunch
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Mr Al-Aseel’s wound bled heavily and required treatment from paramedics at the scene before he was transported to hospital for further care.
Ms Burnett provided testimony describing the attack as “the most horrific physical assault I have seen in my life”.
She told the court: “I was deeply concerned because there was blood shooting up the sides of my kitchen.”
The witness added that Mr Al-Aseel had been “fearful so I was super-fearful”.
The psychological impact on Ms Burnett was severe. She revealed that she underwent eight months of counselling with a trauma specialist and was unable to leave her home for four months following the attack.
The defendant had claimed during proceedings that he acted in response to aggression from Mr Al-Aseel.
Issuing a warrant not backed for bail, Judge Maylin adjourned the case until Monday. She expressed certainty that Al Mbaidin had deliberately absconded, stating: “In reality, the only conclusion I can be drawn to is that he has voluntarily chosen to disobey the conditions that the court put on his bail.”
The judge revealed she had anticipated the possibility of flight, explaining: “The reason I had put those conditions on his bail is because I had a feeling he might not come back. I have observed him in the dock and he has not been a happy individual.”
She suggested the defendant may have been overwhelmed by witnesses maintaining their original accounts.
