Two brothers have been cleared of assaulting an armed police officer at Manchester Airport after two separate juries failed to reach verdicts in their case. Prosecutors announced they would not pursue a third trial after a second jury remained deadlocked last week.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, both stood trial accused of assaulting PC Zachary Marsden. They denied the single charge and maintained they had acted in self-defence.
Amaaz was previously convicted of assaulting two police officers and a member of the public during the same incident, jurors heard during the recent trial, which concluded on 20 May. He now awaits sentencing on those charges.
Judge Neil Flewitt KC directed not guilty verdicts to be recorded against Amaaz and Mr Amaad on the charge of assaulting PC Marsden, occasioning him actual bodily harm, after prosecutors offered no evidence, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Jurors in the second trial stated they were unable to reach agreement on any verdicts regarding either defendant following approximately 19 hours and 48 minutes of deliberation, and after being directed that majority verdicts were permissible.
Prosecutors requested additional time from the judge to consider their position and determine whether they would seek a further retrial. The decision was confirmed by prosecutor Paul Greaney KC during a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, 29 May.
He stated the decision had been deliberated at the 'highest level' of the CPS. Mr Greaney explained that the law indicated there was a 'clear presumption' against a third trial unless 'exceptional circumstances' existed and the case was of 'extreme gravity', conditions he said were not satisfied in this instance.
During the five-week trial at the same court, jurors heard that the siblings, both of Tarnside Close, Rochdale, had previously travelled to the airport to collect their mother.
Amaaz attacked a man named Abdulkareem Ismaeil inside a branch of Starbucks at the airport, after his mother had 'some form of disagreement' with Mr Ismaeil on a flight back to the UK from Pakistan via Qatar. Amaaz has alleged his mother was racially abused by Mr Ismaeil during the flight.
Amaaz subsequently assaulted two police officers at a pay station in terminal two, after they were called to attend following the incident on July 23, 2024.
At a prior trial last year, Amaaz was found guilty of assaulting Mr Ismaeil in Starbucks, and of attacking two female police officers, PC Ellie Cook and PC Lydia Ward. Unarmed officer PC Ward was left in tears after breaking her nose and bleeding 'profusely'.
PC Cook sustained 'relatively minor injuries'. PC Marsden was reported to have suffered a 'post-concussion syndrome', said to have comprised a 'severe headache for three days', along with episodes of 'dizziness' and 'forgetfulness', difficulties with speech, and bruising and swelling. During the altercation, PC Marsden kicked Amaaz in the face and brought his foot down onto his head in a 'stamping motion', the court heard.
Taking the stand in his own defence, Amaaz told the court he feared he would end up 'dead' after being 'grabbed' by PC Marsden during the confrontation. 'I was thinking why is this guy using so much force?' he said. 'The way he was grabbing my neck, I thought this guy forces me down to the ground he is going to beat me, he is going to beat me to the point I cannot breathe and I am dead.'
Mr Amaad denied acting 'offensively' towards PC Marsden, insisting he believed he was being attacked. He told the court that upon seeing PC Marsden's firearm, he raised his arms and placed his hands on his head. 'I just thought I do not want to die today, I do not want to get shot,' Mr Amaad told the court.
