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A individual has been jailed for life with a minimum period of 23 years for the murder of a young Syrian refugee after the victim brushed past his girlfriend in Huddersfield town centre.

Trial Learns Details of Fatal Altercation

Leeds crown court learned how the defendant, aged 20, attacked with a knife the victim, aged 16, shortly after the teenager walked by Franco’s girlfriend. He was declared guilty of homicide on last Thursday.

Ahmad, who had fled battle-scarred the city of Homs after being hurt in a bombing, had been residing in the Huddersfield area for only a few weeks when he crossed paths with his attacker, who had been for a jobcentre appointment that day and was intending to purchase cosmetic adhesive with his female companion.

Details of the Assault

The court learned that Franco – who had used weed, a stimulant drug, a prescription medication, ketamine and a painkiller – took “some petty exception” to the boy “harmlessly” walking past his companion in the public space.

Surveillance tape showed the defendant making a remark to the teenager, and calling him over after a quick argument. As the youth approached, the individual unfolded the knife on a switchblade he was carrying in his pants and thrust it into the boy’s neck.

Verdict and Judgment

Franco pleaded not guilty to murder, but was convicted by a trial jury who considered the evidence for about three hours. He confessed to carrying a blade in a public place.

While sentencing the defendant on Friday, the court judge said that upon seeing Ahmad, the defendant “identified him as a target and lured him to within your proximity to assault before ending his life”. He said his statement to have spotted a blade in the victim's belt was “a lie”.

Crowson said of the teenager that “it stands as proof to the medical personnel attempting to rescue him and his will to live he even reached the hospital with signs of life, but in reality his trauma were unsurvivable”.

Relatives Reaction and Statement

Presenting a message written by his relative Ghazwan Al Ibrahim, with input from his parents, Richard Wright KC told the court that the victim's parent had had a heart episode upon being informed of his son’s death, causing him to require surgery.

“Words cannot capture the effect of their terrible act and the effect it had over the whole family,” the statement said. “His mother still sobs over his clothes as they carry his scent.”

The uncle, who said the boy was like a son and he felt remorseful he could not keep him safe, went on to explain that the victim had thought he had found “a safe haven and the achievement of aspirations” in Britain, but instead was “cruelly taken away by the unnecessary and sudden attack”.

“As Ahmad’s uncle, I will always bear the shame that the boy had traveled to England, and I could not ensure his safety,” he said in a statement after the sentencing. “Ahmad we adore you, we long for you and we will continue always.”

Background of the Teenager

The trial learned the victim had journeyed for three months to get to England from his home country, stopping in a asylum seeker facility for young people in Swansea and studying in the Welsh city before arriving in West Yorkshire. The young man had dreamed of becoming a medical professional, driven in part by a wish to care for his mom, who suffered from a chronic medical issue.