🔗 Share this article

A person has been sentenced to life with a lowest sentence of 23 years for the murder of a young Syrian refugee after the teenager brushed past his partner in downtown Huddersfield.

Court Learns Details of Deadly Confrontation

Leeds crown court was told how the accused, twenty, attacked with a knife Ahmad Al Ibrahim, sixteen, soon after the boy brushed past his companion. He was found guilty of the killing on Thursday.

The teenager, who had escaped conflict-ridden Homs after being hurt in a blast, had been residing in the local community for only a short period when he crossed paths with his attacker, who had been for a meeting at the job center that day and was planning to get cosmetic adhesive with his girlfriend.

Details of the Assault

The trial heard that the defendant – who had taken marijuana, cocaine, a prescription medication, an anesthetic and codeine – took “a trivial issue” to the boy “innocuously” walking past his partner in the road.

Surveillance tape revealed the defendant saying something to the teenager, and summoning him after a quick argument. As the boy came closer, Franco unfolded the knife on a folding knife he was concealing in his trousers and drove it into the teenager's throat.

Verdict and Sentencing

The defendant pleaded not guilty to murder, but was convicted by a trial jury who considered the evidence for about three hours. He confessed to carrying a blade in a public area.

While delivering the judgment on Friday, the presiding judge said that upon seeing Ahmad, Franco “singled him out and drew him to within your reach to attack before taking his life”. He said his statement to have seen a weapon in the boy's clothing was “false”.

The judge said of the victim that “it stands as proof to the doctors and nurses attempting to rescue him and his desire to survive he even made it to the hospital alive, but in fact his trauma were fatal”.

Family Reaction and Message

Reciting a statement written by the victim's uncle the family member, with input from his parents, Richard Wright KC told the court that the victim's parent had suffered a heart attack upon being informed of his child's passing, necessitating medical intervention.

“It is hard to express the impact of their awful offense and the impact it had over everyone,” the statement stated. “The boy's mom still sobs over his belongings as they remind her of him.”

Ghazwan, who said his nephew was like a son and he felt remorseful he could not shield him, went on to state that the teenager had thought he had found “a safe haven and the realization of hopes” in England, but instead was “cruelly taken away by the pointless and random violence”.

“As Ahmad’s uncle, I will always bear the shame that Ahmad had come to the UK, and I could not keep him safe,” he said in a declaration after the judgment. “Ahmad we love you, we long for you and we will do for ever.”

Background of the Victim

The trial learned the teenager had journeyed for three months to reach the UK from the Middle East, visiting a refugee centre for youths in a city in Wales and studying in the Welsh city before arriving in Huddersfield. The teenager had aspired to be a physician, inspired partially by a hope to look after his mother, who was affected by a persistent condition.