Two brothers have been acquitted of attacking an armed police officer at Manchester Airport following two juries’ inability to reach decisions in their case.
Crown prosecutors announced they would not pursue a third trial after a second jury remained split last week. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, were both on trial charged with attacking PC Zachary Marsden. They rejected the single allegation and insisted they were defending themselves.
Amaaz had previously been found guilty of attacking two police officers and a member of the public in the same incident, trial jurors were told in the case, which concluded on May 20. He now awaits sentencing on June 26 for those offences.
Judge Neil Flewitt KC directed not guilty verdicts to be entered against Amaaz and Mr Amaad on the charge of attacking PC Marsden, causing him actual bodily harm, after prosecutors presented no evidence, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Jurors in the second trial stated they could not reach agreement on any verdicts regarding either of the defendants after deliberating for approximately 19 hours and 48 minutes, and after being instructed they could deliver majority verdicts.
Mobile phone footage of Amaaz, 21, being kicked in the head before apparently being stamped on by an armed police officer went viral when it was published on the internet shortly after the confrontation on July 23, 2024. The incident sparked a wave of protests.
The Manchester Evening News subsequently acquired and published additional CCTV footage that seemed to show the police officers being assaulted just before the kick.
The event occurred at a car park pay station at Terminal 2 after Amaaz and his elder brother Mr Amaad, 26, both from Rochdale, collected their mother from a Qatar Airways flight from Pakistan.
Last year, following a five-week trial, a jury was unable to reach verdicts on charges that the brothers had previously attacked the armed police officer who kicked one of them, PC Zachary Marsden. The duo claimed they acted in self-defence.
After a re-trial which concluded on May 20, a second jury also failed to reach a verdict on the charge. On Friday (May 29), it was confirmed that prosecutors would not pursue a third trial. Not guilty verdicts were recorded for the defendants.
Amaaz was found guilty at last year’s trial of assaulting a man by headbutting him inside Terminal 2, leading police to apprehend him and his brother inside the car park pay station shortly afterwards.
Amaaz was also convicted of assaulting another armed officer, PC Ellie Cook, and an unarmed officer, PC Lydia Ward, who was seen on body-cam footage bleeding heavily and crying after the defendant punched her squarely in the face.
Prosecution counsel Paul Greaney KC stated that the decision to forego another trial had been made at the ‘highest level’ of the CPS. He explained that the law stipulates a ‘clear presumption’ against a third trial unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’ and when the case is of ‘extreme gravity’.
Mr Greaney noted that while the case was ‘serious’, it did not meet the criteria for ‘extreme gravity’. The prosecutor informed the court that there had been ‘wholly false’ information which had gained momentum on social media, asserting that Amaaz had been convicted on other offences and that jurors had not been deadlocked on all charges.
Mr Amaad embraced supporters outside the courtroom after the hearing concluded. Earlier in court, his solicitor Chloe Gardner said her client had faced ‘trial by court’ and ‘by social media’ and had been unable to work.
She requested a defendant costs order to cover expenses he had incurred while facing trial. His brother Amaaz, who appeared via video link from prison where he has remained since the end of the first trial, was remanded in custody.
The judge told Amaaz: “As I’m sure you will have been advised, there will be an immediate prison sentence. How long that will be, I will decide when I have heard all the submissions by both counsel on that occasion.”
Amaaz was seen on CCTV landing 10 punches, two ‘elbow strikes’ and one kick. His brother was recorded throwing six punches during the footage shown to jurors in both trials. They claimed they were acting in self-defence.
The video also captured one of the armed police officers, PC Zachary Marsden, kicking Amaaz in the face while he was on the ground after being Tasered, then seemingly attempting to stamp on his head. He could still face criminal charges or disciplinary action, it can now be revealed.
In a statement agreed upon and read out at the first trial, jurors were informed: “The Independent Office for Police Conduct carried out an investigation into PC Marsden in relation to the incident at Manchester Airport on July 23, 2024, which has not yet concluded.
“The focus of the IOPC investigation is upon allegations of professional misconduct by PC Marsden towards the defendants and members of the public.
“The IOPC investigation also encompasses a criminal investigation. On December 20, 2024, the Crown Prosecution Service publicly announced that PC Marsden would not be prosecuted for any criminal offence arising out of the incident at Manchester Airport on July 23, 2024.
“Until the IOPC investigation is formally closed, it remains an open criminal investigation. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, a decision will be made as required in law as whether to refer the matter to the CPS, should the IOPC decision maker responsible for that decision believe there is sufficient new evidence for a re-referral to the CPS.”
This week, the IOPC stated: “Our independent investigation into the use of force by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers during a series of arrests at Manchester Airport in July 2024 is at an advanced stage. New evidence, gathered as part of a separate investigation, came to our attention in October 2025 and as a result, there are now additional lines of inquiry for us to explore before we can finalise our decisions.
“IOPC investigators are now working through various strands of investigative material before any decisions are made on the next steps. We will continue to keep the relevant parties updated as we work to conclude matters as swiftly as possible.”
PC Marsden rejected defence claims he had employed ‘unlawful force’ and belonged to an ‘out of control’ squad of officers. The short-sighted constable, whose spectacles were dislodged, informed jurors he was concerned his Glock 17 semi-automatic weapon might be seized and insisted he had conducted himself ‘with the utmost professionalism and bravery’. Mr Greaney KC discussed the kick to the face during the first trial, stating: “Those actions look rather shocking in the cold light of day, but we suggest they need to be judged in the context of the very serious level of threat posed by the defendants to an officer who was concerned that his firearm might be taken from him at an airport.”
Following the verdicts, it can now be revealed that the defence’s two attempts to have the case dismissed or delayed due to comments on social media were unsuccessful. They proposed inspecting jurors’ phones to see what they had viewed online. Judge Neil Flewitt KC rejected these requests during legal discussions without the jury present.
In addition, the judge stated that he had referred Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to the Attorney General for labelling the defendants as ‘those violent thugs’ during a press conference, just as one of the defendants was starting to give evidence in the first trial. The Attorney General’s office confirmed that no contempt proceedings have been initiated.
The incident began when police were called after Amaaz headbutted a member of the public, Abdulkareem Hamzah Abbas Ismaeil, inside the terminal building just minutes earlier. Mr Ismaeil, an official with the interior ministry in Kuwait, declined to provide a statement to the police, explaining that he was on holiday with his family at the time and they were ‘scared about today’.
He was subsequently detained on suspicion of racially aggravated assault regarding an incident aboard the Qatar Airways flight, following accusations made by the mother of the defendant brothers, Shameem Akhtar.
He was subsequently told that no criminal charges would be pursued against him. He refused to give a statement as a witness, the court was told during legal argument while the jury was absent.
Video evidence shown to the jury revealed Ms Akhtar – who was returning to the UK after nearly two years abroad – identifying Mr Ismaeil at Starbucks in T2 after being collected by her two sons and six year old grandson. One of them, Amaaz, was recorded on CCTV delivering a headbutt to Mr Ismaeil before launching a left and right punch.
The defendant brothers maintained throughout both trials that after collecting their mother, she identified Mr Ismaeil and, when they demanded an apology, he refused and was claimed to have yelled ‘do you know who I am?’ and ‘I’ll f***ing kill you’. Amaaz stated he headbutted Mr Ismaeil and delivered two punches in self-defence in what his legal team characterised as a ‘pre-emptive strike’.
Armed officers were summoned to the location, spoke with Mr Ismaeil and then tried to apprehend Amaaz in the car park’s pay station. PCs Marsden and Ward, who had been briefed that a man in a blue tracksuit had just headbutted someone at Starbucks, entered the pay station and each seized one of Amaaz’s arms. According to the defence, Amaaz’s arrest was unlawful as he was detained and his actual arrest occurred ‘some time later’ outside the pay station. The pay station became a scene of horrifying violence, with children among the onlookers.
The defence contended that the police were part of an ‘out of control’ team stationed at the airport, used unlawful force, and that the brothers had the right to defend themselves. Amaaz even claimed he feared he was going to be ‘murdered’ by the police.
The court was told PC Marsden suffered from ‘post-concussion syndrome’; experienced severe headaches for three days; bouts of dizziness, forgetfulness, difficulties in speaking; and bruising and swelling. PC Ward underwent surgery to realign her nose after she was punched in the face by Amaaz.
She was recorded weeping uncontrollably and bleeding from her nose and mouth on police body-cam footage moments after the punch.
PC Cook was examined by a paramedic when she returned to a police station that night after suffering swelling to her temple and pain in her jaw from a flying elbow.
Amaaz, who left a University of Salford sport rehabilitation degree, told the trial that the police failed to identify themselves when they seized him at the pay station and he initially thought he was being attacked by people summoned by Mr Ismaeil.
He acknowledged he recognised they were police officers moments afterwards, but claimed he and his brother were being attacked by them and, when an officer pointed a Taser stun gun at his brother, he believed his sibling was about to be shot.
He told the first trial: “Throughout the whole incident me and my brother was under attack. I was trying to protect myself and protect him and I just felt I was fighting for my life.”
Mr Amaad, a former assistant manager at KFC who later worked as a ‘case manager’ at Virgin Media, told the jury he was compelled to defend himself, adding: “I just felt to myself ‘I’m not dying today’. I have been punched, I have been Tasered, I am not going to die today.”
The trial heard Amaad had applied twice to join GMP where another sibling, Mohammed Abid, serves as an officer. The sibling observed much of the trial from the public gallery and he wrote a glowing character reference read to the jury for his accused brothers.
The court heard the brothers’ uncle Nazir Hussain had retired following 30 years of service as an officer with GMP, inspiring others in the family including Mr Abid to join the police.
The defendants were questioned in court about why they had not contacted police following the headbutt incident at Starbucks nor any of their police officer relatives. The accused brothers maintained they had been threatened at the coffee shop. At the initial trial, Amaaz was found guilty of three charges – assaulting Mr Ismaeil, by beating; assaulting PC Lydia Ward, causing her actual bodily harm; and assaulting an emergency worker, PC Ellie Cook, by beating.
Mr Amaad was released from the dock. Amaaz will be sentenced on June 26.
‘Online vilification, condemnation and adverse commentary’
After the hearing, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson issued a statement. He said: “Following a protracted trial, the jury have been unable to deliver a verdict.
“While disappointed that the prosecution case was not fully endorsed, we respect the findings of the court and accept the outcome of the jury’s thoughtful deliberations.
“This incident began after a man was headbutted in a public place in front of his family. Our officers were responding quickly to precisely the sort of outrageous criminal behaviour that rightly offends the public.
“In undertaking their duties, officers were met with resistance and violence; followed by online vilification, condemnation and adverse commentary from those who did not have the full facts.
“It is vital that officers get the respect and support they deserve for routinely putting themselves in harm’s way to protect the public.
“Assaults on police officers are sadly all too common – 35 of my officers are assaulted every week across Greater Manchester – and such incidents can never be justified.
“I am particularly grateful to those many members of the public who have contacted the force in order to pass on their best wishes to the officers affected.
“While the criminal trial is now concluded, we are cognisant of the ongoing IOPC investigation into the conduct of our officers. We will continue to cooperate fully with this investigation, and we look forward to its conclusion in due course.”
‘Trial by social media’
Following the hearing, Aamer Anwar, the brothers’ solicitor, told reporters outside court: “I am instructed to make this statement on behalf of Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad. The brothers are grateful to their legal team for their robust defence during this trial and the previous trial last year.
“For the second time, including at this retrial, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the single charge faced by both brothers: assault occasioning actual bodily harm against armed officer PC Zachary Marsden at Manchester Airport on July 23, 2024.
“The position of the two brothers has always been that they acted in self-defence and today they were formally acquitted and a verdict of not guilty was recorded.
“Since the two brothers were charged in 2024, they have been subjected to an orgy of race hate. Meanwhile, politicians such as Nigel Farage and far-right activists have operated with total impunity.
“Social media posts viewed by millions, created a highly prejudicial atmosphere in which a lynch mob mentality that was racist and anti-Muslim, called for deportation, riots, the death penalty and hanging of the two brothers if they were acquitted. Even their sister and her newborn baby were threatened.
“The brothers have been accused of being rapists, terrorists, drug dealers, yet they are nothing of the sort. It is a matter of public record that prior to this incident that both Fahir Amaaz and Mohammed Amaad had never been in trouble before and they come from a law-abiding family of multiple police officers, who still serve with Greater Manchester Police, including their own older brother.”
He continued: “Following a complaint being lodged by our office, notices were served by the IOPC on police officers, which informed them that they were under criminal and gross misconduct investigations.
“During the two trials social media – beginning with the backdrop of the Southport riots – has played an incendiary role, almost derailing the administration of justice.
“Nigel Farage went onto discuss this live case during the first trial at a Reform press conference on the July 21, 2025. Farage and Reform UK posted his statement, which it said ‘In a system of two-tier policing, under two tier justice as taken hold.
“You only have to look at the reluctance to prosecute those violent thugs in Manchester Airport who beat up the police officers. This happened during the trial.
“A press conference took place during the first trial and was broadcast live on BBC News, Times News and [a] YouTube channel. Mr Farage’s posts reach an audience of millions.
“Many, of course, would amplify the message, misinform, incite and inflame, with unacceptable attacks on the jury, falsely accusing them of being all Asian, and all Muslim. Nothing was further from the truth.
“The jury is the foundation of our legal system for hundreds of years and must be protected from unwarranted attacks by armchair activists and the far-right.
“There was nothing two-tier about the justice meted on my clients as they faced two trials and an estimated two million pounds of costs being spent on this case. Today, justice was done.
“The trial judge last year in the first trial referred Nigel Farage to the Attorney General for the consideration of contempt of court. We also lodged a dossier with the Attorney General on Mr Farage and several prominent far-right social media offenders. The issue was whether they were guilty of Contempt of Court.
“It was disappointing that the Attorney General did not believe there was substantial risk of those comments seriously prejudicing the course of justice and chose to take no action.
“The right to a fair trial is a fundamental principle of the justice system, where public commentary or online activity undermines that principle, the law must applied consistently and without fear or favour.
“As for our armed officers, who are supposed to be highly trained professionals, they are expected to take split second decisions which can have the power of life and death. But, quite rightly in a democracy, they are expected to justify the decisions they take.
“Both Mr Fahir Amaaz, who has been in custody for some ten months, and Mohammed Amaad have not just faced trial twice, but they have faced trial by social media.
“Their lives have been wrecked. But this is not over.”
‘The law is clear’
The Crown Prosecution Service issued a statement saying: “Mohammed Fahir Amaaz carried out a violent series of assaults, first an unprovoked attack on a member of the public before turning his aggression on police officers who were responding to the incident.
“During that attack, two female officers were assaulted, with one left bleeding after suffering a broken nose. The officers were carrying out their duties to protect the public in a busy airport when they were assaulted.
“After a trial, Amaaz was found guilty by a jury of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to PC Lydia Ward, assault on an emergency worker in relation to PC Ellie Cook, and assault by beating in relation to a member of the public. He will be sentenced for his violent actions in due course.
“The jury in the first trial was unable to reach a verdict on a further count relating to an assault on a third police officer. A retrial was held, but a second jury has also been unable to reach a verdict on that count.
“The law is clear that any further retrial in these circumstance would be highly exceptional. After careful consideration, we have concluded that it is not in the public interest to seek another trial.”
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