Two men are facing potential prison sentences after being convicted of affray following a violent street brawl in Blackwood, Caerphilly, that witnesses described as terrifying — with children among those who looked on as the mass fight unfolded.
Omed Pirot, 31, and Shahab Husseini, 25, were found guilty at Newport Crown Court after a confrontation between staff from two rival barber shops escalated into a melee involving 13 people on the afternoon of 13 February. A third defendant, Sardam Ebrahimi, 27, of Newport, was acquitted of affray by the jury.
The violence was rooted in a commercial dispute between Kurds Barbers in nearby Newbridge and Marmaris Turkish Barbers in Blackwood. According to the prosecution, the trouble began when Pirot, who worked at Marmaris, announced plans to open a second branch in Newbridge — a move the court heard was “not received well” by employees at Kurds Barbers.
On the day of the brawl, four cars made the journey from Newbridge to Blackwood, parking outside Absolutely Fabulous hairdressers at around 2.30pm. Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir told the court: “The two factions then meet up on the street, and a large-scale fight erupts.” Several 999 calls were made by members of the public reporting that up to five people had been stabbed, and police attended Marmaris Barbers where they found five individuals with visible injuries.
CCTV footage and social media clips recovered during the investigation showed men punching and kicking one another on the pavement. A witness who called police reported watching the two groups fighting for approximately four minutes. An off-duty detective sergeant, Kelly Whistance, happened to be at a nearby salon at the time and directed staff to lock the doors and contact police as the brawl pressed against the windows. Scissors were later recovered from the street by officers.
Husseini, of Pontypool, told police he had just finished with a customer when his employer went outside, and moments later a mass fight had broken out. He denied stabbing anyone and said he acted in self-defence out of fear for his friends. The prosecution, however, said he was observed carrying a weapon and making “overhead slashing movements” towards another man. Pirot, of Caerphilly, was said to have been involved in fighting across the street before being struck on the head and falling to the ground. He was subsequently hospitalised with a fractured skull.
Five other men from the rival establishments have already pleaded guilty to affray. Husseini, Pirot, and those five individuals are all due to be sentenced on 10 April.
