EDMONTON, Canada - A Muslim-hating Iranian refugee who nearly killed a dentist in a "brutal" and "shocking" attack was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison.
Provincial Court Judge Mike Allen said Mohammadreza Gholamrezazadehshirazi, 46, and others like him must be deterred from engaging in violent acts that are fuelled by racial bias and religious intolerance.
"This shocking crime must be denounced because violence - and especially violence motivated by racial and religious hatred - cannot be tolerated," Allen said, pausing while an interpreter translated the decision for Gholamrezazadehshirazi.
Last Oct. 23, Gholamrezazadehshirazi walked into the Affinity Dental Clinic in Edmonton and demanded to be seen by the dentist.
In Farsi, he told Ali Fathi-Afshar he had been suffering from a toothache for two years. The young dentist took an X-ray and told Gholamrezazadehshirazi his tooth was severely decayed.
Fathi-Afshar recommended the tooth be pulled, a diagnosis that upset his patient.
Gholamrezazadehshirazi told Fathi-Afshar he was the worst dentist, that he was sorry he had ever come to his office. He said the staff were "racist and stupid" and treated him worse than the religious leaders in Iran. He continued to make vulgar comments and Fathi-Afshar told him to leave.
Forty-five minutes later, the angry man returned and attacked Fathi-Afshar with a broken glass bottle. He slashed at the dentist's arm, leaving two huge gashes and barely missing a vital artery. A surgeon said that if the artery had been cut, "there is a very real possibility that he may have bled to death."
It is not clear whether Gholamrezazadehshirazi or his victim are Muslim. However, in his decision Allen explained that the accused "expressed strong hatred toward Muslims and assumed that the dentist was a Muslim.
Gholamrezazadehshirazi slumped in the prisoner's dock as Allen spoke, his fingers pressed into his ears. He curled himself into a ball and told the interpreter to shut up.
Outside court, Fathi-Afshar said he was pleased with the judge's decision, and bears no ill will toward his attacker despite the fact that his life has been forever changed by the attack. He can no longer perform some basic dentistry, such as tooth extractions, and cannot play the tar - a traditional Iranian stringed musical instrument - a pastime he has enjoyed since he was 14.
"I just don't want him to hurt anyone else," Fathi-Afshar said. "Hopefully he gets rehabilitated."