A man who stabbed a surgeon in the neck outside Altrincham Islamic Centre last September has now been jailed.
Ian Rooke, 29, of no fixed abode, was jailed for five years and four months at Manchester Crown Court for carrying out the stabbing on 24 September last year.
Dr Nasser Kurdy, 58, an orthopaedic surgeon at Wythenshawe Hospital, was attacked by Rooke from behind and left with a two-inch stab wound in the back of his neck as he entered the mosque at about 5:30 pm.
Rooke previously admitted in a court hearing that he stabbed father-of-three Dr Kurdy, who was also the mosque’s imam.
He pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possessing an offensive weapon in public but denied attempted murder.
During the trial in March, a jury at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester found Rooke not guilty of attempted murder.
It was agreed by the prosecution and the defence that Rooke was suffering from a personality disorder and had not taken prescribed mood-stabilising drugs for two days at the time of the attack.
Dr Kurdy, was not seriously injured in the attack and was discharged from hospital shortly after the attack.
According to Manchester Evening News, Dr Kurdy announced that the ordeal has actually made him a better person and that his outlook on life has changed for the better. He also hopes to be a part of Rooke’s rehabilitation.
