🔴 Manchester Airport Attack Trial Begins Amid Jury Warning
Jurors warned in explosive Manchester Airport assault trial as viral footage, media frenzy and police injuries take centre stage in this courtroom showdown.
The high-profile Manchester Airport attack trial — long anticipated by both legal observers and the public — formally commenced today at Liverpool Crown Court with the opening stage of jury selection in the case against two Rochdale brothers accused of multiple assaults during a chaotic incident at the busy international terminal last summer.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, both of Tarnside Close, Rochdale, are jointly charged in connection with a now widely circulated incident on 23 July 2024 at Terminal 2 of Manchester Airport. The case, which has attracted extensive media coverage and online commentary for nearly a year, centres on alleged assaults involving both members of the public and serving police officers.
As proceedings began before His Honour Judge Neil Flewitt KC, a panel of 40 prospective jurors was reduced to 28 following a preliminary questionnaire designed to assess suitability, impartiality and prior exposure to press reporting. Addressing the remaining panel directly, the judge delivered a pointed and unusually firm direction about the nature of the case and the importance of shielding their deliberations from external influence.
“You will have realised from the questionnaire this trial involves events at Manchester Airport on July 23 last year which attracted a large amount of mainstream and social media interest,” he said, before stressing that jurors “must not allow yourselves to be influenced by anything you may have read or heard on the mainstream media or social media.”
He warned that further commentary was likely as the trial progressed and issued clear instructions not to seek out any additional information online. The jury panel was formally stood down until Wednesday morning when the final stage of selection will resume.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz faces four charges. The first alleges that he assaulted a member of the public — Abdulkareem Hamzah Abbas Ismaeil — by beating. He also stands accused of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against officers PC Zachary Marsden and PC Lydia Ward, and a fourth charge of assaulting an emergency worker, PC Ellie Cook.
His brother and co-defendant, Muhammad Amaad, faces a single charge of assault against PC Marsden relating to the same incident.
Footage of the altercation has circulated widely on social media and is expected to form part of the prosecution’s evidence. Body-worn video from attending officers, civilian witness statements, and CCTV footage are also expected to be central to the Crown’s case.
While the defendants have entered not guilty pleas at an earlier hearing, their full defence positions have yet to be opened in court.
The judge’s clear and early direction on the risks of prejudicial reporting underscores the exceptional public profile of this case. The original incident — which took place in broad daylight within one of the UK’s busiest airports — generated substantial digital engagement, sparking debate and speculation across numerous online platforms.
The trial is expected to last up to three weeks. Once the jury is finalised and sworn, opening submissions from both prosecution and defence counsel will begin later this week.
Well, that’s all for now. But until our next article, please stay tuned, stay informed, but most of all stay safe, and I’ll see you then.
