إِنَّا ِلِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون

On February 11th, my younger brother Ahmednur was senselessly stabbed in the back by a stranger. A stranger who had prior connections to the murder of 44 year old Lewis Butler. A stranger who was released on bail for possession of over 100 bags of both Class-A drugs and possession of a Rambo-style knife. A stranger whose release was only 9 days before he murdered Ahmednur.

Moments before the fatal stabbing, a partial CCTV recording released by the BBC showed that he was pushed towards his death, despite running away from the perpetrator. However, full footage of the CCTV recording shows that Ahmednur had kept many metres away from the group until he was forcefully pushed, drastically closing the distance between Ahmednur and the perpetrator. The behaviour of the perpetrator was neither remorseful nor indicative of the character of someone who "was diffusing a situation," as he claimed in court. A CCTV snapshot shows that after stabbing Ahmednur, the perpetrator boasted with his knife, which he later discarded, never to be found. Skipping, jumping, and flinging the knife around the scene of the crime, exclaiming "I shanked you, and what?". Ultimately, Ahmednur spent his final moments of life in an inconceivable amount of suffering. While initially standing alone and waiting for a friend, things drastically took a turn for the worst, with his friend never showing up. An innocent child, never far from his loved ones, died amongst people who had no regard for his sanctity of life.

Unfortunately, not only have we had to come to terms with how Ahmednur was forcefully taken away from us, but we have not received adequate sentencing for the perpatrator or for the group of individuals who caused and pushed him to his death. On February 28th, the court announced that Justice Will-Mamah, the perpetrator, would be sentenced to two thirds of 11 years for manslaughter and 14 months for possession of a bladed article. This is nothing short of an insulting sentence when the initial charge was murder, and due to his lack of convictions for his previous crimes, he was able to claim good character in court and be treated as such. Ahmednur was the true definition of a cheerful schoolboy, a word used so loosely in court to describe his murderer. School boys do not murder younger children, and school boys do not wander school premises with records of serious crimes. As a result of negligence from both schools and police, a schoolboy was killed in front of many other school youths of all ages during lunch time, the busiest part of the day.

Not only did Ahmednur’s murderer receive a lax sentence, but the group that caused his death have not been appropriately dealt with or charged. Leaving one individual on bail who will inevitably commit further crimes like the perpetrator, continuing this vicious cycle of knife crime. This lack of accountability and justice has not only affected our family, but it sets a dangerous precedent for future incidents and sends the message that violence and negligence will go unpunished. It is imperative that both schools and law enforcement take responsibility and prioritise the safety of our children. We will campaign against the miscarriage of justice in Ahmednur’s case and the sentencing handed down to his murderer to ensure that other young people do not suffer the same fate.

For further contact information:

Miskey Nuur : miskeymina@gmail.com