The attacker of a talented young DJ who was left severely disabled after being beaten up outside a nightclub has been jailed for just three-and-a-half years.

Sami Shariff, 29, has needed 24-hour care at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney after he was set upon by two men in an unprovoked attack last year.

Ali Adbul-Hamid was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court this afternoon, while his accomplice, Jaffar Abbas, has fled to Iraq.

Sentencing, Judge Roger Chapple said: “Whatever perceived slight you may have faced, your response was unfathomable and unforgivable.

“You were, in my judgement, in the thick of it. At one stage, you held Mr Shariff up against a wall and delivered powerful blows to him and at least one kick.”

The court heard how Mr Shariff, whose stage name is Sami Sanchez, performed at a Latin night in seOne nightclub, London Bridge, on May 3 last year before he was attacked outside.

Witnesses said there had been an argument between Mr Sharif and some men earlier in the night over a spilt drink, but those people were ejected by staff at 2.30am.

The court heard how Adbul-Hamid and Abbas loitered outside waiting for him until he left with a friend at 3.45am and jumped in a taxi.

They then approached the taxi – with Abbas reaching through the window to punch Mr Shariff.

CCTV footage played in court showed Mr Sharif then slide out of the taxi door before being accosted by Abdul-Hamid.

A witness saw Mr Shariff being punched and kicked in the head, chest and stomach before the men fled.

Mr Shariff took a taxi home but later collapsed, only to be found at 10pm the next day when his best friend, Juliana Lopez, became worried after he would not answer the door.

Police broke into his flat and found him on the floor, unconscious, with severe bleeding in his brain.

In their statement to the court, his family said Mr Shariff could have been dead if he was left there for as little as 30 minutes longer.

They said doctors at the hospital warned them that he may be brain dead and asked them to consider turning off his life-support machine.

Through intensive therapy, he began communicating again via electronic equipment, but is paralysed on his left side and cannot walk or talk.

Doctors believe he may need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.

In a heartbreaking pre-recorded video played to the court, he wept as he used an electronic alphabet to describe the devastating effect of the attack.

He said: “I have lost my independence. I can't even go to the toilet. I can't even talk or eat by myself. Why me?

“The attack has left me disabled. I'm stuck in this chair. I used to be a successful DJ. I was a popular person.”

Mr Shariff, who attended court to face his attacker, was brought up by his devoted father, Joseph, 63, in the Great Portland Street area.

Described by family as a “soft soul who would never hurt a fly”, he had many friends and became a successful DJ in London's Latin music scene.

His family statement read: “From a little boy, all he wanted to do was to make people happy, and he found he could do this through music.

“This man [Abdul-Hamid] has destroyed the one thing that Sami loved most. And this man has destroyed the future that his dad has worked so hard to create for him.”

A petition of more than 1,800 signatures demanding justice for Mr Shariff was handed to the judge this week, with about 40 supporters attending court for the sentencing.

Adbul-Hamid, 27, of Lanark Road in Maida Vale, north London, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH),which carries a maximum sentence of just five years.

He failed to plead guilty of GBH with intent, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, claiming that the brain injury was not inflicted by him.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) accepted this lesser plea, preventing the case reaching trial.

Concluding, Judge Chapple said: “In these circumstances, I have no power or decision in the matter. It's for the CPS to decide the charges.”

Speaking outside of court, DC Suzanne Litton from Southwark CID said: "A minor incident involving a drink has led to this young man's life being destroyed following a senseless attack and nothing can ever be done to bring him back to the person he was before.

“I know that today's sentence will not lessen the pain felt by those that love him but I sincerely hope that the fact that Abdul-Hamid has been brought before the court to face justice will bring some sense of closure to this tragic event."

Police said Abdul-Hamid originally fled to Iraq after the attack, but was eventually extradited to the UK on 23 February.

They are “reviewing options” to bring Abbas to justice.