Controversial police chief Dizaei and the bizarre case of the hubbly-bubbly pipe 'assault'

Controversial police chief Ali Dizaei arrested a man for allegedly assaulting him with part of a traditional Middle Eastern pipe in a bizarre row outside an Iranian restaurant.

Website designer Waad Al-Baghdadi, 23, was handcuffed after allegedly shouting abuse at the Scotland Yard Commander.

He is also accused of poking the officer in the stomach and the arm with the four-inch mouthpiece of a ‘hubbly-bubbly’ water pipe, or hookah.

The extraordinary row occurred last Friday evening at Persian restaurant Yas, in Kensington, West London.

Iranian-born Mr Dizaei – who was recently promoted to Commander five years after being cleared of corruption charges at the Old Bailey – had been dining there with his wife.

He was leaving at around 11.30pm when he was allegedly accosted by Al-Baghdadi.

According to the restaurant’s owner, the young man was angry at Mr Dizaei’s failure to call him back after a previous chance meeting when he offered to do some design work for the officer.

Mr Dizaei, 45, said yesterday that he warned Al-Baghdadi to calm down but he was attacked with the mouthpiece.

He said: ‘He became very threatening in front of loads of people. I warned him but he didn’t listen to what I had to say.

‘He was swearing in Farsi, in effect saying, “Who do you think you are?”

‘He had a blunt instrument that he stuck into my stomach. It looked like a four-inch knife at the time.

‘When I arrested him he resisted and basically he was handcuffed. After being arrested he apologised for his behaviour.’

The owner of the restaurant, Sohrab Eshraghi, 68, a close friend of Mr Dizaei, yesterday elaborated on the incident.

He said that Mr Dizaei, who was wearing his full Commander’s uniform, instructed him not to serve the young designer.

Yas restaurant (left) and a hubbly bubbly water pipe

Mr Eshraghi said: ‘His argument was why Mr Dizaei hadn’t phoned him. He was saying, “I am a busy man, I can’t just answer someone who phones.”

‘Al-Baghdadi was being young and kind of cocky, you know... He was saying things like “b***** off” and “I am not scared of you” in Farsi. And, of course, Mr Dizaei’s wife is Persian so she understands all these things.

‘I said to Al-Baghdadi, “Look, you are not talking to a normal person – this man is a quite high-ranking officer, and even to a normal officer you have to be polite.”

‘But he was saying, “I am not scared of these people.”

‘Mr Dizaei said, “Don’t serve him” so I went in and said, “I can’t serve you – you will have to leave.” So he got more angry, he came out and left.

‘By this time Mr Dizaei is back in the car. Then all of a sudden Mr Dizaei ran off round the corner. We ran to see what had happened and we saw him with his arm around his back, with Mr Dizaei handcuffing him.’

It is alleged that Al-Baghdadi was arrested after he thrust the mouthpiece, which is of the sort carried by many regular hookah smokers, into Mr Dizaei’s stomach and arm.

Mr Eshraghi said: ‘I didn’t see it but he had his own mouthpiece in his pocket and he used it on Mr Dizaei’s arms and stomach. That was checked by the doctor for the police report.’

Mr Dizaei, one of the country’s most senior Muslim officers, was one of nine new Commanders appointed by the Metropolitan Police Authority last month.

He stood trial in 2003 on charges of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office, after it was claimed he lied about minor damage to his car. He was cleared on both counts.

The charges were brought after investigators conducting a multi-million-pound covert operation failed to find evidence for claims that Mr Dizaei used prostitutes and spied for Iran.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair apologised for the inquiry last year, saying it caused ‘considerable damage’ to the force.

Mr Dizaei won £60,000 in compensation.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘A 23-year-old man was arrested for a public order offence and assaulting a police officer. He has been bailed until August.’