Prosecutors have decided against pursuing a third trial for two brothers, Muhammad Amaad and Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, who were accused of assaulting PC Zachary Marsden during a widely publicized incident at Manchester Airport on July 23, 2024. This decision follows two previous juries failing to reach verdicts on the charge of assaulting PC Marsden. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stated that while the case was serious and attracted significant public interest, it could not be described as one of "extreme gravity," a key factor in considering a third trial.
The incident gained widespread attention due to mobile phone footage circulated online, depicting a chaotic confrontation involving the brothers and police officers near Terminal 2. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was previously convicted in a separate trial of assaulting two female police officers, PC Lydia Ward and PC Ellie Cook, and a Starbucks customer, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, during the same altercation. He is currently awaiting sentencing for these convictions.
Amidst the ongoing public discussion surrounding the case, author and journalist Kenan Malik criticized the implication of ethnic bias in the jury verdicts. Malik stated in a tweet, > "Given that the ethnic composition of the two juries in the Manchester Airport assault case have not been published (as is the norm), to imply that that the verdicts were the result of ethnic bias displays, shall we say, a certain bias?" His comment highlights a perceived bias in public discourse regarding the judicial process.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into the use of force by Greater Manchester Police officers during the incident, including PC Marsden's actions, remains ongoing. Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson acknowledged the court's findings, stating, "Whilst disappointed that the prosecution case was not fully endorsed, we respect the findings of the court and accept the outcome of the jury's thoughtful deliberations." The brothers' solicitor, Aamer Anwar, remarked that their lives had been "wrecked" by the ordeal, adding that the case is "not over" due to the continuing IOPC probe.
