Life for Teen Asylum Seeker over Savage Revenge Murder

An 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who travelled more than 150 miles to hunt down and murder a shop worker in an exceptionally violent knife attack has been sentenced to life imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court.

Sulaiman Tajzai, 18, residing at Wesley Road, Leeds, appeared at the Old Bailey today where he was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years.

He had previously pleaded guilty on Friday 11 September to the murder of 26-year-old Farmanullah Sherzad and a further charge of possession of a bladed article.

The fatal attack occurred outside the victim's residence at Abbey Orchard Street in Westminster, central London, on Friday 27 March 2026.

Passing sentence today, Judge Angela Rafferty KC condemned the savage public attack. The court heard how the defendant had stalked his victim like prey following a complex family dispute and a deeply held personal grudge.

Tajzai harboured the false belief that Mr Sherzad was a member of the Taliban and he blamed the group for the previous kidnapping and suspected murder of his own father in Afghanistan.

This animosity was further inflamed by allegations that the 26-year-old victim had been stalking the wife of Tajzai's cousin who also resided in Yorkshire.

The fatal stabbing marked the culmination of months of hostility between the two parties. Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC detailed an earlier incident in October 2025 when police officers were called to the Leeds home of the defendant's cousin and his wife.

Upon arrival, officers discovered Mr Sherzad sitting on the floor with no shoes on and his wrists bound together with fabric.

He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of stalking and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence. However, the court was told that Mr Sherzad strongly denied the allegations and informed interviewing officers that he was engaged in a consensual relationship with the woman who had explicitly invited him to visit her via the social media application Snapchat.

Following his release from police custody, the defendant's cousin and his wife contacted the authorities on multiple occasions to pursue the matter. They were eventually informed that there would be no further action taken against Mr Sherzad.

This prosecutorial decision proved to be the catalyst for the murder. In January 2026, Tajzai travelled from Yorkshire to London to conduct reconnaissance near the south London convenience store where Mr Sherzad worked and to map out the precise route to his home address in Westminster.

The premeditated nature of the killing was meticulously outlined during the proceedings. On the day of the murder, Tajzai purchased a kitchen knife from a shop in Leeds before boarding a southbound train to the capital.

CCTV footage captured him arriving at London King's Cross station attempting to conceal his identity by wearing a medical facemask, a distinctive jacket and dark gloves. He was then tracked on camera walking across London to position himself outside the victim's Abbey Orchard Street residence.

Mr Sherzad finished his shift at 10 pm and cycled home completely unaware that his killer was lying in wait.

As the victim arrived at his property, Tajzai ambushed him. Security footage captured a brief scuffle before Mr Sherzad attempted to flee the scene, screaming for his life. Tajzai ruthlessly pursued the victim into the street and subjected him to a frenzied attack, stabbing him at least 10 times and leaving him in a pool of blood.

Emergency services were dispatched to the scene at approximately 10:15 pm where they found Mr Sherzad unconscious with catastrophic injuries. Despite immediate medical intervention, he was pronounced dead at the scene 20 minutes later.

Fleeing the scene of the crime Tajzai discarded a pair of black gloves near St James' Park before travelling back to Leeds by train the following day.

Forensic examiners later successfully linked these discarded gloves to the murder by identifying the victim's blood on the exterior fabric and the defendant's DNA on the inside. Tajzai, who claimed to be 14 years old when he entered the UK in August 2022 before formally claiming asylum the following year, offered no defence to the overwhelming forensic and digital evidence gathered by homicide detectives.

In mitigation defence barrister Frida Hussain KC told the court that her client was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She argued this psychological condition stemmed from his childhood exposure to frequent violence in his home village and the traumatic deaths of several relatives in Afghanistan.

Despite these submissions Judge Rafferty stressed the sheer brutality of the premeditated revenge attack. The judge's remarks were set against a backdrop of highly emotional victim impact statements provided by Mr Sherzad's grieving loved ones.

They paid tribute to the 26-year-old shop worker by describing him as a friendly, polite and respectful person who was always well mannered and tolerant of others.

The court heard that he was a highly dedicated individual who frequently worked six or seven days a week to support himself while maintaining a deep passion for cricket where he was known as a very good fast bowler.