Man jailed for shattering business partner’s skull

London Road, west Croydon. Pic: Google Maps

London Road, west Croydon. Pic: Google Maps

A Croydon man who has been on the run for six years after shattering his business partner’s skull in a violent attack has been sentenced to more than 14 years in jail.

The Met police confirmed yesterday that Husamettin Selimoglu, 53, fled to the Netherlands in 2007 after committing the assault on London Road, which left his business partner in a critical condition for several days.

On December 29 2007, Selimoglu assaulted and stabbed the 42-year-old man with a ten-inch knife in the head, leg and hand. The victim eventually recovered, but sustained long-term injuries.

A three-day trial at Croydon Crown Court last week found Selimoglu guilty of GBH with intent. He had originally been charged with attempted murder. Selimoglu was sentenced to 14 years and 10 months in jail on Friday.

During the trial, jurors were told that the victim, Dr Tanriverdi, fell to the floor during the attack in the Anatolian Community and Cultural Centre. His kneecap was then nearly cleaved off by Selimoglu, who continued his assault.

Dr Tanriverdi said: “I shouted ‘enough, enough’. But he didn’t stop.”

The attacker, a Turkish national, became the focus of the investigation by Croydon CID after the police found evidence that he and his business partner had fallen out shortly before the attack. The CID believed he had fled the country and issued a European Arrest Warrant in 2008.

Detectives from Croydon’s Wanted Offenders Unit discovered Selimoglu was in the Netherlands last year. He was arrested by Dutch officers in November 2013 and extradited back to the UK in January.

Detective Constable Matt Day, from the Wanted Offenders Unit at Croydon, said: “Whilst it took a number of years to find Selimoglu, we never gave up and thanks to the help of the local Dutch police in the Amsterdam area, he was arrested and has now been convicted of a very serious crime.”

“I hope that this can now give the victim some closure in the case, knowing that his attacker will be behind bars for a number of years.”

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