A student who allegedly broke a police officer’s nose during a violent airport brawl “told a bare-faced lie” when he claimed he didn’t realise he was punching a woman, a court was told.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, is accused of launching a brutal assault on PC Lydia Ward at Manchester Airport, along with attacks on PCs Ellie Cook and Zachary Marsden. Prosecutors say he “fabricated” claims of self-defence to justify the violence.
Prosecutor Paul Greaney KC told the jury at Liverpool Crown Court to “trust their eyes and ears” when considering the evidence heard throughout the trial. “The truth will be clear,” he said.
‘Cannot exist in the real world’
Mr Greaney dismissed Amaaz’s assertion that he didn’t realise Ms Ward and Ms Cook were women. “That cannot exist in the real world we inhabit,” he said. “There is simply no justification for Amaaz to use any violence at all against Ms Ward, let alone punch her in the face and break her nose. There is simply no justification for Amaaz to use any violence to Ms Cook, let alone punch and elbow her in the face.”
The court heard that the incident began after an earlier confrontation in a Starbucks café at the airport in July last year. Amaaz is said to have attacked a man named Abdulkareem Ismaeil, an act Mr Greaney claimed was carried out “out of anger and revenge” after the man allegedly insulted his mother during a flight from Pakistan.
Police duty
Greaney told the court that the police officers were attempting to arrest Amaaz for that incident when they approached him in the car park’s pay station area. “They were entitled to use reasonable force to effect an arrest,” he said. “It was what they were entitled to do and what their duty required them to do.”
Responding to claims that the officers behaved like a “gang of out-of-control individuals”, Mr Greaney said the jury should reject the suggestion. “We invite you to conclude that these were experienced officers who knew through their training that Amaaz needed to be arrested.”
Kicking and stamping
While acknowledging that PC Marsden was seen kicking and stamping on Amaaz during the struggle, the prosecutor said that footage of that moment should not distract the jury. “What does that kick, what does that stamp, have anything to do with your task?” he asked. “From all you have seen from the footage and from all you have heard from these three professional officers in the witness box, you can be sure that the suggestion they were out of control is false.”
Mr Greaney also claimed Amaaz’s older brother, Muhammad Amaad, “saw red and mounted a sustained attack” on PC Marsden during the same confrontation. He said Amaad had “pummelled” the officer, who was slumped on a bench and “in a position of disadvantage”.
Distraction
The court heard that both brothers remained silent during their post-arrest interviews, something Mr Greaney said was because they had not yet “fabricated” their self-defence narrative. “They have sought to construct a false story to distract you from the truth of what occurred,” he said.
Judge Neil Flewitt KC reminded jurors in his legal directions that social media coverage of the case had been “emotive and inaccurate”. He warned them to disregard external reports and focus solely on the evidence presented in court.
“You may feel sympathy, upset or even anger,” the judge said. “Emotions of that kind must play no part in your deliberations. It is essential you put them to one side as they would distract you from your solemn duty.”
Was use of force reasonable?
He noted that while the prosecution claimed the brothers’ use of force was offensive, the defence argued they were acting lawfully in self-defence or defence of each other. He added that the law allows a person to use reasonable force in self-defence if they believe they are under attack, “even in the heat of the moment when fine judgements are difficult”.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz is charged with assaulting PC Zachary Marsden and PC Lydia Ward, causing actual bodily harm, as well as the assault of PC Ellie Cook and of Abdulkareem Ismaeil at a nearby Starbucks.
His brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, is accused of assaulting PC Marsden, also causing actual bodily harm.
Both men, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny all charges.
The trial continues.