On Friday, news came that Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad will not face a third trial for assaulting PC Zachary Marsden at Manchester Airport in a brawl which was shown – in part – in viral social media clips almost two years ago. The brothers were accused of causing actual bodily harm but two juries failed to reach verdicts on the charge and CPS said ‘any further retrial in these circumstances would be highly exceptional’. On Talk TV yesterday, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said the decision ‘beggars belief’. Some online commenters have suggested the brothers were let off entirely. What happened?
In July 2024, viral footage showed Fahir Amaaz being kicked in the head by PC Marsden while he was lying on the ground in a car park at Manchester Airport. This sparked protests, calls to dismantle Greater Manchester Police and comparisons with the death of George Floyd. Shortly after, CCTV footage published by the Manchester Evening News ‘appeared to show the police officers coming under attack moments before the kick’.
The judge would have allowed a majority verdict but this did not happen
The brothers’ mother had arrived at Manchester Airport on a flight from Doha. She told them that another passenger had racially abused her and pushed a luggage trolley into her. Amaaz confronted the man, Abdulkareem Hamzah Abbas Ismaeil, in a Starbucks and then headbutted and punched him. Amaaz said Ismaeil had threatened to kill him, but two workers at the coffee shop told both trials that they had not heard this threat and that Amaaz was the aggressor. Police interviewed Ismaeil on suspicion of racially aggravated assault; no charges were brought against him.
After assaulting Ismaeil, Amaaz went with his family to the airport car park. Three police officers, PCs Marsden, Lydia Ward and Ellie Cook, followed him there to arrest him. He resisted and his brother stepped in, leading to the events shown in the two videos.
Greater Manchester Police handed the CPS the results of their investigation in August 2024 but it took until December for charges to be authorised, and to confirm that no charges would be brought against any of the police officers involved.
In a first trial Amaaz was found guilty of assaulting PCs Ward and Cook, and Ismaeil. He was remanded into custody. The first jury could not reach a verdict on whether PC Marsden was assaulted occasioning actual bodily harm. The brothers’ defence was that they had acted in lawful self-defence of themselves or each other.
After a retrial lasting five weeks, at which Amaaz appeared by video link from prison, a second jury also could not reach a verdict on the charge of assault against the brothers. The judge would have allowed a majority verdict – usually that needs 10 of the 12 jurors to agree – but this did not happen. The CPS said it would not seek a third trial and the judge ordered not guilty verdicts. The CPS says the decision was made at the highest level and it is constrained by the law, which only allows a third trial in cases of ‘extreme gravity’ – and this one does not meet the threshold.
Marsden was treated for bruises and jaw pain and diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome caused by head trauma, the court heard. He remains under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which would refer him to the CPS. Amaaz will be sentenced for the crimes of which he was found guilty on 26 June.
So, it’s not the case that the brothers got off entirely – but questions remain about how a key charge ended up with two hung juries in a row.
