Following a verdict of murder, the Muslim Social Justice Initiative (MSJI) has issued a statement on the killing of 16-year-old Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim.
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Statement on the murder of Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim
The man who murdered the Syrian-born Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim was Alfie Franco. The judge gave Franco a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years. The BBC described Franco as showing “no emotion” during the sentencing. They added:
Franco claimed he had acted in self-defence because he thought Ahmad had a knife and would attack him first.
But Judge Crowson told him that “this was not a mistake or a misconception by you – it was a lie”.
He added: “During this trial you tried to portray him as the aggressor. But the CCTV showed he was no threat to you whatsoever.
The judge said that Ahmad “must have been terrified and in great pain” after being attacked and that it was testament to both him and paramedics that he did not succumb to his injuries until he reached hospital.
The MSJI statement reads:
Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim was sixteen years old. He came to this country seeking safety, after surviving a war Britain helped to create.
Two weeks after moving to Huddersfield, Ahmad was stabbed to death by a man on the street. Today, that man was sentenced. But justice will not come from this system.
The same country that forces people to flee has never been a refuge for those who survive empire’s wars.
Ahmad is another Muslim young person denied the chance to group up in a safe world.
It is impossible to treat Ahmad’s murder as separate from the hostility that Muslims and those seeking refuge live with every day in this country, and around the world.
As Muslims, we also can’t help but notice the ongoing silence when our people and children face the sharpest edges of racialised violence, here and globally – sadly, even from anti-racist organising peers here in the UK.
May Allah grant Ahmad eternal safety and give his family patience.
Ahmad’s life matters beyond words to us. We ask that you recite al-Fatiha for him and keep his family in your prayers.
Featured image via Muslim Social Justice Initiative
By Willem Moore
This post was originally published on Canary.