MANCHESTER AIRPORT ASSAULT RETRIAL: WEEK 4 SUMMARY

The Manchester Airport retrial entered a pivotal stage this week as jurors heard directly from second defendant Muhammad Amaad for the first time, before the case moved into closing speeches from both prosecution and defence. Over several days at Liverpool Crown Court, the jury was shown further CCTV footage, heard competing accounts of the violent confrontation involving armed officers in Terminal Two’s pay station, and listened as arguments focused on whether the brothers were acting in self-defence or carrying out an unlawful attack on PC Zachary Marsden, with prosecutors accusing bo brothers of lying to justify their actions, while defence lawyers branded armed officer PC Zachary Marsden a “rotten apple” whose conduct allegedly escalated the incident.

Muhammad Amaad, speaking from the witness stand, told jurors he feared both for his brother’s safety and for his own life during the confrontation with armed police officers in Terminal Two’s pay station. Liverpool Crown Court was told the 26-year-old, from Rochdale, believed his brother Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was being “choked” by PC Zachary Marsden when officers moved to detain him following an earlier disturbance inside Starbucks.

Giving evidence for the first time, Mr Amaad said the family had gone to Manchester Airport to collect their mother after a flight from Pakistan via Qatar. He repeated allegations that another passenger, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, had racially abused his mother during the journey and later threatened his brother inside the airport café. Mr Amaad claimed Mr Ismaeil became “agitated and angry”, allegedly telling Mr Amaaz: “I’ll smash you” and “I’ll kill you”, before the family moved towards the pay station.

Jurors heard Mr Amaad describe being “taken aback” when armed officers suddenly “grabbed hold” of his brother without identifying themselves as police. He claimed PC Marsden held Mr Amaaz around the neck in a manner he believed endangered his breathing, telling the jury: “I thought he was being choked.” Mr Amaad denied attempting to interfere with an arrest, insisting he did not realise officers were detaining his brother over the earlier Starbucks incident. He also denied deliberately pushing against or moving the officer’s Glock firearm, saying he had not even noticed the weapon at the time.

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The defendant told jurors he was then struck repeatedly by PC Marsden, describing a “massive smash” to the face before feeling “bang bang bang” elbow blows while his eyes were closed. Mr Amaad accepted punching the officer but maintained the force he used was entirely defensive. He said he feared he might be shot after seeing the officer’s firearm following a Taser discharge, telling the court: “I just thought, ‘I don’t want to die today, I don’t want to get shot’.”

Mr Amaad testified that the reason he placed his hands on his head after being hit by a Taser was not that he feared a second Taser strike, but because he had noticed PC Marsden‘s holstered Glock, while confirming that the officer did not draw his weapon during the incident.

Jurors were also shown CCTV stills which Mr Amaad said depicted an officer kneeling on his neck while he struggled to breathe.

Under cross-examination, prosecutor Adam Birkby KC repeatedly accused the defendant of lying to support his brother’s account and suggested the punches delivered to PC Marsden were “offensive, not defensive”. Mr Amaad rejected those claims throughout.

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The court later heard character references describing Mr Amaad as “reliable”, “kind” and “dependable” before his defence formally closed. Judge Neil Flewitt KC then spent much of Thursday dealing with legal directions in the absence of the jury before adjourning proceedings until Friday. By the end of the week, the trial moved into closing speeches, with prosecutors telling jurors the case was “not complicated” and accusing both defendants of lying in an attempt to escape conviction.

Prosecutor Paul Greaney KC said the “real issue” for the jury was whether the force used against PC Marsden was “offensive, not defensive”, arguing claims the officers were “out of control” were “glib and confected”. He dismissed suggestions the brothers feared they would be killed by the armed officer as “detached from reality”. But Imran Khan KC, representing Mr Amaaz, accused PC Marsden of acting unlawfully and described him as a “bad apple” and a “rotten apple” whose failures escalated the violence. He alleged the officer ignored training, unlawfully assaulted Mr Amaaz and later kicked and stamped on his head after the struggle had ended.

We will be back in court tomorrow, where we are expecting the end of closing arguments and the judge’s final directions.

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, both of Rochdale, deny assaulting PC Marsden occasioning him actual bodily harm.

Read more: Manchester Airport Attack Retrial: Week One Recap