Brothers ‘used high level of violence’ to assault police at Manchester Airport, court hears

Two brothers used a ‘high level of violence’ while assaulting police officers at Manchester Airport, a jury has heard.

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, are said to have struck out after police were called to respond to an earlier incident at the Starbucks cafe in the Terminal 2 building on July 23 last year.

The incident began when officers went to arrest Amaaz after he allegedly headbutted and punched someone in Starbucks, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Opening the prosecution case on Friday, Paul Greaney KC said officers who were already in the airport later traced them at the terminal’s car park payment area.

Three officers, PC Zachary Marsden and PC Ellie Cook – both armed – and PC Lydia Ward, unarmed, approached the defendants, he said.

Mr Greaney went on: ‘The officers attempted to move Mohammed Fahir Amaaz away from a payment machine in order to arrest him, but he resisted, and his brother Muhammad Amaad intervened.

‘Both defendants assaulted PC Marsden.

‘In the moments that followed, the first defendant also assaulted PC Cook and then PC Ward too, breaking her nose.

‘The defendants used a high level of violence.’

Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted PC Marsden and PC Ward, causing them actual bodily harm.

He is also accused of the assault of PC Cook and the earlier assault of Abdulkareem Ismaeil at Starbucks.

Amaad, 26, is alleged to have assaulted PC Marsden, causing actual bodily harm.

Both men, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny the allegations.

Mr Greaney said the defendants had travelled to the airport with their young nephew to collect their mother who was due to arrive back on a flight from Qatar.

The prosecutor said: ‘A man named Abdulkareem Ismaeil was on the same flight as the defendants’ mother. He was travelling with his wife and three young children.

‘It is clear that on the flight and/or shortly after it landed, something happened between the defendants’ mother and Abdulkareem Ismaeil that made the defendants’ mother unhappy.

‘The defendants met their mother in the arrivals area of Terminal 2 and began to walk to the car park with her and the child that was with them. As they did so, they passed a Starbucks coffee house.

‘Abdulkareem Ismaeil was in there with his wife and children. The defendants’ mother spotted Abdulkareem Ismaeil and pointed him out to her sons.

‘At just after 8.20pm, the defendants entered Starbucks and confronted Abdulkareem Ismaeil.

‘During that confrontation, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz delivered a headbutt to the face of Abdulkareem Ismaeil and punched him, then attempted to deliver other blows, all in front of a number of children.

‘The prosecution case is that this was obviously unlawful conduct.’

Mr Greaney told jurors the prosecution’s position was this was ‘not a complicated case’.

He said: ‘The events you are concerned with were captured by CCTV cameras and, in relation to the events in the payment area on the body-worn cameras of police officers as well.

‘So you will not have to depend only on the recollections of witnesses. You will also be able to see with your own eyes what happened.

‘The two defendants assert, as we understand it, that at all stages they were acting in lawful self-defence or in defence of the other.

‘Our prediction is that you will readily conclude that the defendants were not acting in lawful self-defence and that their conduct was unlawful.’

Jurors were then shown the CCTV footage from the incident at Starbucks, lasting around one minute and 50 seconds, before it was replayed for a second time.

It shows the defendants walking past the shop until their mother sees the man she had the disagreement with and points him out to her sons.

Her youngest son then appears to confront Mr Ismaeil, who is with his wife and children.

The footage shows Mr Ismaeil backed against the counter of the Starbucks with Amaaz close to him.

The CCTV has no sound but a verbal argument appears to ensue for around 30 seconds before Amaaz suddenly delivers a headbutt to Mr Ismaeil’s face, followed by a punch to the same area with his left fist.

He then tries to punch Mr Ismaeil with his right fist.

Mr Greaney told jurors the violence was entirely unlawful and delivered out of ‘anger’ and not in self-defence.

The prosecutor said Mr Ismaeil is not a witness so the jury will not hear from him.

He was visiting the UK with his family and just wanted to get on with his holiday and declined to give a statement to police.

Mr Greaney added: ‘However, the absence of evidence from him makes it no less easy to conclude that the first defendant behaved unlawfully in Starbucks.’

Jurors were played CCTV footage from when the three uniformed police officers entered the car park paystation at 8.28pm including the moment when Pc Cook deployed her taser at Amaaz who fell to the ground.

Mr Greaney said: ‘He (Amaaz) was still holding PC Marsden round the neck as he fell, dragging the officer to the floor with him. At that point, PC Marsden was able to roll away and get to his feet.

‘The first defendant (Amaaz) then raised and moved his head towards Pc Marsden who, it seems, in response kicked him to the face and then brought his foot down towards the top of his head in what looks like a stamping motion.

‘We recognise those actions look rather shocking in the cold light of day but we suggest they need to be judged in the context of the very serious level of threat posed by the defendants to an officer who was concerned that his firearm might be taken from him at an airport.

‘In any event, those actions all occurred after the violence of the defendants.

‘The position of the prosecution is that they are logically irrelevant to the lawfulness of the conduct of Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad as charged in the indictment.

‘What you have seen is the two defendants acting offensively, not defensively. The position of the prosecution is that their apparent defence of self-defence is false.’

The trial continues.

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