🔴 Jury Hears All Evidence in Manchester Airport Assault Trial

Brothers accused of assaulting GMP officers at Manchester Airport claim self-defence. Jury to deliberate after closing speeches. See what the court heard.

The jury has heard all the evidence in the trial of the two brothers accused of assaulting Greater Manchester Police officers in the car park pay area of T2, Manchester Airport. After last week, where much of the time was devoted to the testimony of police officers which we covered in our article here, both brothers have now given their testimony. 

For the remainder of this week, jurors will hear closing speeches from the prosecution and the defence summing up their cases, before Judge Flewitt KC, presiding over proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court, gives jurors legal directions for their deliberations.

Jury deliberations are expected to begin on Friday or Monday.

Video evidence of the alleged assaults has been played in court and the defence have not disputed that Mr. Amaaz head-butted and swung a punch at a member of the public who did not physically attack him, in T2 Starbucks, and that minutes later the defendants struck multiple times at people they had recognised at the time as uniformed officers, resulting in injuries including a broken nose.

The Crown argues that these were acts of aggression, the defence argues that they were acts of lawful and proportionate self-defence in the face of perceived threat or violence.

Regarding the defendant’s intentions and whether they intended to cooperate with police, the court heard that that Mr. Amaaz tensed up when officers seized his arms from behind and resisted their efforts to control his movements. Mr. Amaaz testified that he would have complied with police if he had understood what was going on, but as the officers confirmed to the court, that they had not verbally announced their intentions to the defendants. Mr Amaaz agreed that he had recognised PC Marsden as a police officer when he turned around, but told the court he had not had time to think and properly understand the situation. He testified had he had also not concluded that the person holding his other arm was also a police officer. 

Both brothers testified that it had not occurred to them that the officers were effecting an arrest of Mr. Amaaz over the earlier head-butt incident.

Mr. Amaaz also faces charges over this earlier incident, where he does not dispute that he head-butted and swung a punch at a passenger who his mother claimed had verbally and physically abused her. Mr. Amaaz claimed that he acted in response to the man’s shouted threats and believed violence would be imminently used against him.  The court also heard the defendants deny that Mr. Amaaz’s mother and older brother were trying to hold him back from further attacking the man, with Mr. Amaad saying specifically that when he got in-between Mr. Amaaz and the passenger, it was not to break up a fight.