Three men jailed for life for Birmingham riot murder

Three Asian men have been jailed for life for the murder of a black IT worker during riots in Birmingham last year.

Isaiah Young-Sam was stabbed in the heart in the Lozells area of Birmingham on October 22 last year. His friend, Locksley Byfield, was also stabbed during the attack.

The court heard how two or three cars pulled up alongside the victim and his friends and a group of men in hoodies and bandanas got out and chased them.

Waqar Ahmed, 26, Azhil Khan, 23, and Afzal Khan, 22, all from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, were found guilty of the murder. They had denied murder, as well as wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

However, the court heard that the men went to Huddersfield hours after the attack and booked one-way tickets to Pakistan.

They were stopped en route to Dubai and returned to Britain where they were arrested.

The trio were sentenced to a minimum of 25 years for the murder. They were also sentenced to ten years, to run concurrently, for the wounding of Mr Byfield.

Mr Young-Sam's sister Kavina described her brother as a kind, fun-loving, humble and respectful young man. She said: "His interests included going to the gym, leisure time on his computer and listening to music. One of his more serious interests was in his Bible, which had a big impact on how he lived his life and how he dealt with others in such a fair and positive manner."

The riots in Birmingham were sparked by unsubstantiated rumours that a West Indian girl had been raped by a gang of Asian men.

(KMcA/CD)