Individual Imprisoned for At Least 23 Years for Killing Syrian Boy in Huddersfield

A individual has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years for the killing of a young Syrian refugee after the boy brushed past his companion in downtown Huddersfield.

Trial Learns Details of Fatal Confrontation

Leeds crown court was told how Alfie Franco, twenty, knifed the teenager, 16, not long after the teenager passed the defendant's partner. He was found guilty of murder on last Thursday.

The teenager, who had escaped conflict-ridden his Syrian hometown after being injured in a bombing, had been staying in the Huddersfield area for only a couple of weeks when he met Franco, who had been for a employment office visit that day and was planning to get cosmetic adhesive with his female companion.

Particulars of the Attack

The court was informed that Franco – who had taken cannabis, cocaine, a prescription medication, ketamine and a painkiller – took “a minor offense” to Ahmad “innocuously” walking past his girlfriend in the street.

CCTV footage displayed Franco uttering words to Ahmad, and summoning him after a quick argument. As Ahmad came closer, the attacker deployed the weapon on a switchblade he was carrying in his pants and plunged it into the victim's neck.

Verdict and Sentencing

The accused denied murder, but was convicted by a trial jury who took a little more than three hours to decide. He admitted guilt to having a knife in a public space.

While delivering the judgment on the fifth day of the week, judge Howard Crowson said that upon seeing Ahmad, the man “identified him as a target and enticed him to within your reach to assault before killing him”. He said his statement to have noticed a knife in Ahmad’s waistband was “false”.

The judge said of the victim that “it is a testament to the medical personnel working to keep him alive and his desire to survive he even arrived at the hospital breathing, but in reality his wounds were fatal”.

Relatives Impact and Message

Reading out a declaration prepared by the victim's uncle his uncle, with contributions from his mother and father, Richard Wright KC told the court that the boy's dad had suffered a heart attack upon being informed of his son’s death, leading to an operation.

“It is hard to express the effect of their awful offense and the impact it had over all involved,” the message read. “His mother still cries over his belongings as they smell of him.”

Ghazwan, who said Ahmad was as close as a child and he felt guilty he could not shield him, went on to declare that the victim had thought he had found “the land of peace and the realization of hopes” in Britain, but instead was “tragically removed by the unnecessary and sudden attack”.

“Being his relative, I will always feel responsible that he had traveled to England, and I could not keep him safe,” he said in a statement after the verdict. “Dear Ahmad we adore you, we yearn for you and we will feel this way eternally.”

Background of the Teenager

The proceedings was told the victim had made his way for 90 days to get to England from the Middle East, stopping in a refugee centre for teenagers in the Welsh city and studying in the Swansea area before moving to his final destination. The boy had aspired to be a medical professional, driven in part by a wish to care for his mom, who was affected by a chronic medical issue.