Eight Men Cleared Of Deaths During Birmingham Riots

Eight men have been found not guilty of the murder of three men during last summer's riots in Birmingham.

20-year-old Haroon Jahan and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, died on 10 August after being hit by a car on Dudley Road in Winson Green.

All eight defendants denied they planned to kill the men in a co-ordinated attack using three cars and said the deaths were an accident.

The victims were part of a group of about 80 men who said they had gathered on Dudley Road late on 9 August to defend local businesses after riots started in the Handsworth area.

The prosecution alleged the eight defendants had planned to draw the men into the street before one of the cars struck them.

The three friends were injured at about 01:00am on 10 August and died later at the nearby City Hospital.

Hours after the deaths, Mr Jahan's father Tariq made an emotional appeal asking people not to seek reprisal.

Defendant Ian Beckford, 30, of Holly Bush Road, Quinton, who was the driver of the car which hit the victims, told the court he had been friends with Mr Musavir and Mr Ali and had been trying to flee from a large group on Dudley Road at the time.

Mr Justice Flaux described the incident as "a tragic and pointless loss of three young lives".

He added: "However, by their verdicts the jury have decided that this was not a deliberate killing, that there was no plan to kill these three young men.

"It is important that, however strong feelings are within the community in Winson Green and adjacent areas, calm is maintained and that these verdicts are respected.

(H/GK)