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November 8, 2006

UK: The Muslims Who Killed A Schoolboy For Being "White"

Special Report

The Start Of The Trial

The trial of three Muslims began on Monday, October 2 in Edinburgh High Court. The three men, Imran Shahid, 29, Mohammed Mushtaq, 27, and Zeeshan Shahid, 29 are charged with "racially aggravated murder". Already, another man was convicted of assault in relation to the same charges. In 2004, Zahid Mohammed was jailed for 5 years. He had been released from jail on license on Wednesday October 4 and has given evidence in this trial.

The accused are said to have been involved in the horrific killing of a 15-year old schoolboy in 2004. Kriss Donald (pictured, above left) was abducted on 16 March, and then stabbed in the lungs, liver and kidney. He was then covered in gasoline and set on fire.

The accused, Imran "Baldy" Shahid, Mohammed "Beck" Mushtaq and Zeeshan "Crazy" Shahid had fled to Pakistan after Kriss' murder, and were arrested there in July last year. They were extradited to Britain on exceptional grounds (Britain and Pakistan have no extradition agreement) in October 2005.

The news was carried by BBC Regional News, the Times, the Glasgow Daily Record, and the Scotsman.

On October 6, according to IC Lanarkshire, another man who has already been convicted of the murder of Kriss Donald said in court that he could not give evidence. The reason given by 22-year old Daanish Zahid, a former shopkeeper, was that his life would be placed in danger if he gave details. When he had been on trial in November 2004, Daanish Zahid had named the three individuals now on trial as those responsible for Kriss' death.

On Monday, October 2 the first day of this trial, Kriss' mother Angela became too upset to remain in the court. Kriss' sister Samantha was also in court.

The scenes of crimes examiner, 44-year old Terrance Morgan, spoke of photographing the corpse of the schoolboy in Glasgow's mortuary. When he was asked who the dead body was, he said: "I was told it was Kriss Donald."

Hearing this, Angela Donald and two companions left the public benches at the High Court.

The jury were shown on the first day photographs and video of the charred mud-stained and mostly naked body of Kriss, in the state in which he had been discovered. Another scenes of crimes examiner, 58-year old William Galloway said that he was called to Clyde Walkway in the east end of Glasgow. There he photographed what resembled a "partially burned log". This was Kriss Donald.

Kriss had a few fragments of clothing around his waist but was otherwise naked when he was found near Celtic Football Club's training ground at Barrowfield. the body had one trainer shoe. Mr Galloway said that he had photographed what seemed to be blood stains on gravel nearby.

Galloway's photographs were not shown to the jury. They were shown the mortuary photographs, and photographs of a Mercedes car, which had been found in a burned out state in Hillhead in Glasgow's west end. Kirsty Denholm, the scenes of crime examiner who took these pictures, said there seemed to be spots of blood on the car. A trainer shoe had been found on the back seat.

On the first day, the court was told by the prosecution that the three accused, as well as Daanish Zahid and Zahid Mohammed, had abducted Kriss Donald on 15 March 2004 from Kenmure Street, in Pollockshields, punched him and kicked him, and placed him in a car. The victim was driven to Strathclyde Park in Motherwell in Dundee, and then taken to Clyde Walkway in Glasgow. It was here that he was stabbed, cut and set on fire.

Mohammed Mushtaq, Imran Shahid and Zeeshan Shahid deny all charges. Imran Shahid, aka "Baldy" is mounting a separate defense, in which he accuses other individuals - Daanish Zahid, Zahid Mohammed and "others", for carrying out the murder.

On October 5, Zahid Mohammed gave evidence to the court. He described how the events had started after Imran "Baldy" Shahid had been attacked with a glass bottle in a club, before Kriss' abduction. "Baldy" claimed that the attacker had been one of the "McCulloch Street boys", a white gang from Pollockshields.

When Zahid Mohammed has visited the house of Mohammed Mushtaq on Monday, 15 March, 2004, the two Shahids, who were brothers, were also there. Imran "Baldy" Shahid had said that he was going to exact his revenge for the incident, saying he would "chop them up, take their eyes out, things like that."

Zahid Mohammed (pictured right) said that it had been planned to take revenge by going in a car to find "them - anybody". Mushtaq took a hammer and a screwdriver and these were placed in a blue plastic bag. Zahir Mohammed gave Imran Shahid a knife and helped Shahid to dye his hair black (Imran Shahid had previously bleached his hair blond).

They got into a silver Mercedes and drove to McCulloch Street and saw Kriss Donald and his friend Jamie Wallace going into Kenmure Street. Imran shahid, whom Mojammed described as physically "massive" then got out of the car and began to fight with the two boys. He concentrated his attack upon Kriss who was "quite small" and who gave "very little" resistance.

Mohammed said that he had never seen Kriss before, and confirmed that if he had been Chinese, black or "Asian" he would have been left alone. He said that Kriss and his friend had been chosen because they were white.

When asked by advocate-depute Mark Stewart QC if Kriss had said anything, Mohammed said: "Yes - he said "I'm only 15. What did I do?" or something like that."

Kriss was dragged into the rear of the car where he was pushed onto the floor of the vehicle. Mohammed and Imran Shahid had punched him in the back, and Shahid had said: "I'm Baldy. Nobody fucks with me." Imran Shahid had pressed a knife into Kriss' back, and asked if the schoolboy could feel it. They went looking to find an apartment or a park to complete the attack. Mohammed said he was dropped off at Strathclyde Park as he needed to be at home. Because he had been convicted of motoring offenses and possessing a knife, Mohammed had an electronic tagging order.

The following day, Mohammed had gone to Mushtaq's apartment and spoke to Imran Shahid's brother Zeeshan, aka "Crazy". Mohammed said he had asked "Crazy" what had happened. He claimed that "Crazy" had said: "He took it quietly".

Imran Shahid's defense lawyer, David Burns, suggested that Zahid Mohammed had done a deal with the prosecution to only get a five-year jail sentence if he agreed to testify against others. Burns asked: "You knew you would get life imprisonment if convicted of murder, and much less if you pleaded to something less?" Mohammed agreed.

Mushtaq's defense, Donald Findlay called Mohammed "a liar, pure and simple" and "cunning and conniving", which Mohammed denied. Findlay said: "Co-incidentally, you were released from prison the day before you give evidence and got a lift here [from England, where he had been in jail] from the police."

Mohammed said under questioning that he had been offered a police agreement and a new identity when the trial is completed.

The court heard on the day before that a 55-year old businessman, Kevin Low, had testified that his Mercedes car had been stolen from Airdrie in Lanarkshire in February, a month before Kriss was killed. This vehicle was the one used to abduct the schoolboy.

As well as being accused of "racially aggravated murder", Imran Shahid is further accused of trying to pervert the course of justice. This happened on October 5, 2005. He is accused of jumping on a blood sample in an effort to destroy it. He denies this.

All three individuals are further accused of acting in a "racially aggravated manner" in Glasgow Sheriff's Court on October 6, 2005. Zeeshan Shahid, Imran's brother, is accused of spitting in a woman's face, spitting at a man, and head-butting another man in the court.

Fury Of The Accused

On October 8, Kriss' companion who had been with him on March 15, 2004, the night of his abduction, testified. 22-year old Jamie Wallace said that they had been attacked by Asian men who shouted "white bastards". He said a Meercedes car was parked in Kenmure Road. "Two doors opened and they were trying to drag him into the car," Wallace said. "I was trying to fight back, and trying to watch myself. I was trying to distract them."

He saw Kriss trying to resist being pulled into the car using his hands and fists, but the schoolboy's jacket was pulled over his head and he was dragged inside the vehicle. Wallace said: "The two doors shut and they were sitting on him and punching him on the back. One of the attackers shouted at me - 'Do you know what pain is - you're next'. Kriss was shouting that he was only 15."

On October 9, a cyclist, 37-year old Gary Neil, told the court how he had discovered Kriss' body lying near the Clyde walkway. Neil, a car salesman, said that he had found a bloody, burned and dirt-covered body. He could see that it appeared to have stab wounds, and was wearing only one shoe, a sock and the remains of tracksuit bottoms. He said: "It was a young person I saw. He was quite dirty. He had some marks on his back. I couldn't really see his face because of his position."

On Wednesday October 11, a witness told the court that he saw one of the three accused burning clothes and boots. 34-year old Hafeez Anwar said that Zeeshan Shahid had placed a black bin bag on the ground, and split it open. Within were items of clothing and fawn boots. Shahid had doused these with petrol and set fire to them.

Norman Ritchie QC, Zeeshan "Crazy" Shahid's defense lawyer accused Anwar of getting revenge by testifying, as Shahid had got his sister pregnant. Ritchie said to the witness: "The truth is, you decided to tell stories about Zeeshan Shahid to get even with him for a number of reasons, isn't that right? Because of your sister's pregnancy?

Anwar, an admitted drug dealer, denied knowledge of this and maintained that he was telling the truth. He had been arrested in May 2004 with cannabis and £1,100 in cash. He denied claims that he only agreed to testify to help his own situation.

The following day, October 12 36-year old Kirsty Dorman, a neighbour of Angela Donald, Kriss' mother, told the court that she had seen a struggle in Kenmure Street. She heard a boy shouting that he was only 15, before being driven away in a speeding car. She had heard Jamie Wallace shouting "Krypto! Krypto!" She learned from a youth in the street that this was a nickname of Kriss. She went to Angela Donald's house and asked her what her son's nickname was. When Angela said "Krypto", Ms Dorman said: "I am sorry. I've just seen your son getting kidnapped."

Angela Donald was saying: "What do we do, what do we do?" They called the police. Upon questioning, Kirsty Dorman said that she had noticed the car initially as it had been raining, and the car had splashed through a puddle as it had passed. She said: "The Asian chap punched the boy. His arms gave way and he went in." She said the Asian man was muscular, with hair which was white on top, and he was wearing a white track suit.

Ms Dorman's son, who had been with his mother, gave evidence over a video link. Jordan Dorman, who is now 12, said: "He grabbed him and tried to push him into the car and he used his legs and hands to stop it and he punched him into the car."

On Friday October 13, 28-year old Scott Percy told the court that on the day of the abduction, Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq, also called "Beck", one of the accused, had rung him via his cellular phone, requesting if he knew of a house where he could take someone.

Police told the court that tyre marks found near the body of Kriss Donald belonged to a Mercedes Kompressor which had been stolen from the Motherwell area on 18 February, 2004.

Malcolm Dippie, from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service said that the car had been intentionally set alight, as the flames had begun in two locations in the vehicle. The car was found alight, and had been extinguished in Granby Lane, and had a smell of petrol which had not come from a ruptured fuel tank.

On October 16 a 23-year old witness, Andrew Ingram testified that he had received a phone call from Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq, aka "Beck". Ingram said: "He asked me if he could come to my house. He just said he had somebody with him, can he bring him to my house to sort it out."

Ingram said that he had told "Beck" that he could not come to his house. Ingram, who gave his address to the court as London Road police station in Glasgow, stated: "I said to him to take him down the Clyde path."

When questioned, Ingram claimed he did not know who was with "Beck" and he was unaware of the problem that he had wanted to "sort out". Ingram said: "I just presumed that, asking for a house, they wanted somewhere quiet - and the Clyde path is quiet."

Donald Findlay, QC, defending Mushtaq, questioned Ingram, who admitted that he had only told police that he had received the call when he was in Barlinnie jail while awaiting trial on serious road traffic charges. Findlay claimed that Ingram had changed his number shortly before the alleged call, and "Beck" was unaware of the new number. The court was shown phone records which confirmed Ingram had received a call on his phone at 3.52 pm on March 15, the day Kriss was kidnapped.

According to the Scotsman, Ingram had claimed that he had given evidence to salve his conscience and for the sake of the Donald family. findlay said to him: "To say your aim was to help the family is as despicable as it is dishonest." Ingram denied the accusation. He said he knew all three accused, and admitted that he had failed to mention the phone call when first asked about the case by the police.

On October 17, Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq's cousin, 22-year old Nazia Ali, told the court that a fortnight after Kriss had been murdered, Mushtaq had called her on the phone. She said: "He just said he was in Pakistan because the police have got it in for him."

Glasgow Evening Times relates that Ms Ali had sworn her oath on the Koran before testifying. said Mushtaq had said he was "In Faisalabad staying in a village".

On Wednesday October 18 a man whom one of the three accused, Imran "Baldy" Shahid, claims had been one of the killers, testified. Imran Shahid has maintained a special defense that he did not take part in the killings, and has named 25-year old Mohammed Maqsood as one of those who murdered Kriss Donald. Maqsood told the court that he had been at a funeral at the time that the abduction had taken place. He denied being involved in the murder.

On Thursday, October 19, a security guard, Sandra Callaghan, gave evidence, states ic Renfrewshire, the Scotsman, the Daily Record and the Glasgow Evening Times.

Ms Callaghan told the court that on October 6 last year, Zeeshan Shahid and two other men were being held in separate cells at Glasgow Sheriff Court. On the previous day, the three men now accused had been brought back to the United Kingdom from Pakistan on an extraordinary extradition, and had been charged with Kriss' murder.

The court was told that on the night of October 5, Imran "Baldy" Shahid had tried to destroy a blood sample.53-year old Dr Philip McNaught, a police casualty surgeon, told the court that he had examined Imran "Baldy" Shahid upon his arrival from Pakistan. McNaught said that he had taken a blood sample for DNA examination. The surgeon then said that Shahid's mood changed. McNaught said: "He became extremely violent, grabbed the sample and tried to break the sample by stamping on it, on the floor, with his foot.' The packaging of the sample was damaged, but the contents remained intact.

Callaghan, the guard, said that on October 6 last year, as inmates from Polmont Young Offenders' institution were being led past the cells, Zeeshan began a tirade of abuse. She said: "He appeared to have lost it. He was screaming at the boys 'what fucking age are you wee bastards. 15? We will murder you an' all you wee bastards.' He was trying to spit at the boys but he spat in my face."

She went to wash her face, and when she came back, Zeeshan "Crazy" Shahid was being moved. She said that officers were trying to restrain Shahid, and she had assisted by lying across his legs.

On Friday, October 20, a witness was called to give evidence, but initially refused to speak and tried to walk out of the court. 21-year old David Beaton had been in the cells area of Glasgow Sheriff Court on October 6 last year, and then had agreed to testify. He had come from Polmont Young Offenders' institution when Zeeshan "Crazy" Shahid had "gone crazy".

When asked by Mark Stewart QC, the advocate-depute (a Scottish legal term for a prosecutor) what had happened in the cell area of the Glasgow Sheriff Court, Beaton said: "I never saw anything." He was warned about perjury, and tried to step down from the witness box. Lord Uist, the presiding judge, ordered Beaton back to the stand, but the young man refused. Lord Uist warned him that he could be charged with contempt of court, and allowed Beaton to leave. Later, Beaton returned and gave evidence of what he had seen in the cells.

Another of the individuals from Polmont Young Offenders' institution gave evidence on Friday, stated IC Renfrewshire. 18-year old David Bowman said that he had been in the cells when Zeeshan "Crazy" Shahid threatened to kill him. Bowman said: "I asked him why he had done it and he said he would kill me as well."

Burned Alive?

On Monday, October 23, according to the BBC, the Scotsman and the Glasgow Evening Times, a 43-year old forensic scientist, Ruth Ramage, told the High Court in Edinburgh that Kriss may have been alive when he was set on fire.

Ramage said that Kriss may have tried to extinguish the flames by rolling in mud on the Clyde walkway. She told the High Court that she had been called to the walkway. She said: "A smell of petrol was noted, particularly when the deceased was turned over onto his back."

"Large amounts of soil were adhering to the deceased, and the soil was on top of burned areas," she testified.

Ms Ramage also said that there stab wounds on the back and also that there were blood stains and scorch marks on some newly-felled logs, 50 yards away from where Kriss' body was discovered. There were bloodstains on the dirt track which lay between the logs and the grass slope above where Kriss was found. On this slope, she had found fragments of burned clothing.

Mark Stewart asked Ms Ramage about the significance of burned clothing debris which had found between the logs and the spot where Kriss' body had been found.

She replied: "In my opinion, the murder and the fire took place in the area of the logs. The deceased has then made his way from the logs across the grass to the position where the body was found... he was still alive when he was burning."

She explained that one reason for the mud lying on top of the burns on the body could be that Kriss had tried to put out the flames by lying on the moist ground.

"At that time, there had been a lot of rain, and there was water and mud at the side of the Clyde path. He may have tried to extinguish the flames by rolling in the mud," Ms Ramage stated.

She also spoke of how she had examined the burned out remains of the Mercedes car. The remains of a left Nike training shoe had been found in the car, and it had the same pattern on its sole as the shoe which Kriss had been wearing when his body was discovered.

For a large part of the afternoon's proceedings, legal discussions took place in camera, with the jury not present. When the jurors returned, Lord Uist told them that "the issue has not been resolved". The trial was adjourned until Tuesday (October 24).

DNA Evidence.

On Tuesday, October 24, a DNA expert, Terry Randall, said that the DNA sample from Imran Shahid (which the defendant had tried to destroy when he stamped on it) matched with samples taken from a burned jacket which had been recovered from the burned-out Mercedes.

He said that the chances of the DNA belonging to anyone other than Imran Shahid was 1 in a billion (1,000,000,000,000, not a US billion). He confirmed that blood stains found on the logs near where Kriss had had been found had come from the 15-year old schoolboy.

Randall said: "It is my opinion this blood had come from the deceased during a sustained assault on him."

A forensic telecommunications expert from Kent, David Sanderson, also told the court that the phone conversations from cellular phones had shown movement from Pollockshields to Hamilton, then Falkirk, Stirling, Perth and Dundee. They showed movement back to Glasgow, near Celtic Football Club's training ground, to Granby Lane and towards Pollockshields.

On Wednesday, October 25, Sanderson confirmed that the methods of tracing calls could only pinpoint the rough vicinity of a call on such a phone, from the nearest mast. "It is consistent with coming from that location but indeed could come from anywhere in the cell area," he said.

The following day, Dr Marjorie Black, a pathologist told the court that the primary cause of Kriss Donald's death was the presence of 13 stab wounds to his chest and abdomen. She said that Kriss had bled heavily, and some of the knife wounds punctured internal organs.

There was one cut on Kriss' arm, consistent with a defensive injury, where he had held up the arm to avert a knife-blow. This wound was on his right forearm. As well as puncturing organs, the seven stab wounds to his chest and abdomen and five cuts to his back had also chipped the victim's ribs.

She said: "In most victims who have received 12 or 13 stab wounds you would expect there to be defensive injuries. The absence of them would suggest that he's been unable to defend himself and there are two possible scenarios for that - one being that the victim was unconscious, the other being that he is restrained in some way and unable to defend himself."

She said there was evidence to suggest that the victim was unconscious.

"This leads me to the most likely scenario that he is being restrained by one or more people while he's being stabbed."

Kriss' mother Angela was in court while Dr Black gave her evidence, but she left when images of her son's charred body were displayed.

Dr Black, echoing the statements of Ms Ramage, suggested that it was probable that Kriss was still alive when he was set on fire. She said: "He may have been dead before being burned. However, he could still have been alive when he was set alight."

She said that the body was badly burned and blistered. Part of one hand had "come away" and there was a smell of petrol, she testified.

The appearance of Dr Black marked the nearing of the end of the crown's case. Lord Uist told jurors on October 28: "I warn you again, please don't discuss the case with anyone. It would be most unfortunate if anything happened to the trial after four weeks of evidence."

On October 30, a witness, 42-year old Derek Lesley, said that he had he had seen a car load of "Asians" who appeared as if "they were sitting on something." He said in court: "It was strange the way they were sitting in the back. Their heads were touching the roof."

At an identity parade, he had picked out Zahid Mohammed sitting in the rear of the car. Zahid Mohammed had been jailed earlier for assault, relating to the attacks upon Kriss Donald, but had been released on parole.

Lesley told the court that he had worked as a valet at a car-hire office in Edinburgh. The Mercedes had driven up to his workplace. He went to approach the vehicle, but one of those inside had put up a hand and told him to return to the offfice.

He said: "I was definitely scared away from the car - told to go away. I thought it was a bit weird."

When he heard the news of the abduction of a young man, he had contacted the police. He had then attended the police identity parade. He told the court: "I got sacked as a result of this whole incident. I wish I had kept my mouth well and truly shut."

His bosses at the car-hire firm had been, according to the BBC, "Asians" - that is - Muslims.

A witness, 35-year old IT consultant Paul Dickson, said that a man that he had seen beside a burning Mercedes in Hillhead may have been "white-skinned." None of the three defendants are "dark-skinned".

Dickson said he had heard an explosion and looked through his window. He said: "There was one person standing beside the car, maybe another person but the view was obscured by trees. I could not be sure."

He said his view had been no more than a "snap shot".

On Tuesday October 31, the judge, Lord Uist, allowed the trial to be adjourned. This was following a request by David Burns QC, Imran Shahid's defense lawyer. There were problems with locating possible witnesses for the defense, and the request for adjournment, to allow time for these to be found, was granted.

On the same day, Mark Stewart QC, for the prosecution, said the case against the three defendants had been proved beyond doubt. He told the jury that they could regard Imran Shahid as the "prime mover", but the participation of Zeeshan Shahid and Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq had also been established.

He said: "That crime can be described as one of the worst and most appalling crimes of inhumanity against an effectively defenceless boy, but it is absolutely essential that, while these sentiments cannot be ignored, they must be banished from your thinking when considering the guilt or innocence of any of these three people."

Defense

On November 1, 52-year old Mary Budd gave evidence before the court. She had been standing at a bus stop in Gallowgate, Glasgow, at 7.55 pm on March 15, 2004. She said: "There was a large, silver car coming slowly along the road from the city centre towards Parkhead. I took it to be a Mercedes."

She saw four "Asians" in the car, and said that "one I thought was white."

"I thought they were carrying on and maybe they had been drinking because they were going so slow. In the back, as it was going past me, someone put their jacket up to the window, so I couldn't see into the back seat.

Zeeshan Shahid denied any involvement with the murder. He also denied that he had fled to Pakistan because he knew there was no extradition treaty with Britain.

He denied being in a silver Mercedes with Kriss Donald, and had nothing to do with any assault or destruction of evidence, as had been claimed by Hafeez Anwar, a prosecution witness.

He tried to maintain Anwar's evidence had come from a personal grudge. Zeeshan Shahid said: "I used to date his sister Rizwana a few years ago and she got pregnant. We broke up in 2001. We had been going out for four years. It was considered a disgrace to the family. It was shameful. It didn't go down too well. He threatened to kill me over this. He hates me and I hate him."

He also dismissed the account given by Zahid Mohammed as "all lies". He said he was unaware of Kriss' murder. He said: "The only time it came to my attention was in June 2005 in Pakistan."

Zeeshan Shahid was the only one of the three defendants to give evidence in the trial in person. He claimed he had never been to the Clyde walkway, where Kriss' body had been found.

He said that he had gone to Paris in April 2004 for business talks with his uncle, who ran a garment warehouse. His uncle was the European distributor for the family garment business. He later went to Lahore in Punjab province, Pakistan, where his family had a factory. It was here that he heard of Kriss' murder, when the Pakistani authorities informed him that extraordinary extradition proceedings had been initiated.

Zeeshan Shahid said that a few months after he went to Lahore in 2004, his brother Imran joined him. In December 2004 or January 2005, he had met up with Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq.

He said: "I was not involved in this. When extradition proceedings started, we all volunteered to go back. I didn't know anything about this before."

On November 2 Mark Stewart QC said the defendants had condemned themselves "from their own mouths". He said that the "crime can be described as one of the worst and most appalling crimes of inhumanity against an effectively defenceless boy."

He said: "The murder of Kriss Donald is one which, you may think, makes their attempts in the course of this trial to divert attention away from the evidence by attacking the character of Crown witnesses ... all the more shameful, particularly when many of these people were their own former friends and associates."

On Friday November 3 the defense for Imran Shahid and Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq made their final statements.

David Burns QC, representing Imran Shahid, said of the witness Zahid Mohammed, who had been convicted for assaulting Kriss: "He is one of the perpetrators of this crime and I suggest to you his motivation from the earliest stages has been self interest, self preservation and to minimise his own involvement to save his own skin. He has got away with murder. He is manipulative and cunning. That is the sort of person the Crown asks you to award a badge of credibility and reliability."

Donald Findlay QC, representing Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq, said that Zahid MOhammed should be serving life for murder. "He walked away because he conned the prosecution throughout his whole involvement in this," Findlay claimed.

He said of his own client's involvement: "In 24 days you have not heard one single, solitary piece of evidence that puts Faisal at the walkway by the Clyde, behind the Celtic supporters' club in his life, let alone on the day Kriss Donald died."

On Monday November 6, Norman Ritchie QC, representing Zeeshan Shahid, said his client was not involved in the killing. He said: "Kriss Donald was abducted in a public street in front of members of the public. He was forced into a vehicle and taken away in that vehicle and he was later found stabbed repeatedly. He must have died a lonely, frightened death."

He told the jury of six men and nine women that his client had chosen to give evidence in person, even though he had no legal obligation to do this. He claimed there was no fingerprint evidence against his client.

Ritchie argued>: "We all feel horror at hearing how Kriss Donald met his end and we who appear in these courts regularly are accustomed to hearing about the inhumanity of man. But there is now and again a case which touches us. We feel a chill of evil. You must be aware of the legitimate and proper clamour for justice in this case. Justice for Kriss - but the accused are also entitled to justice. What justice demands is that the guilty are convicted and only the guilty."

He also attacked the credibility of Zahid Mohammed, the witness who had been convicted of assault. He said that Mohammed "is a man who is incapable of telling the truth." He said that if his account was true, Mohammed (aka "Ziggy") had known that Kriss was left in a car with his killers, and he had not told the police. Ritchie pointed out that four identity parade witnesses had picked out Zahid Mohammed, but no-one had identified Zeeshah Shahid, his client.

Guilty Verdicts

The trial is now over.

The jury at Edinburgh Crown Court has today returned its verdict on Zeeshan Shahid, 29, Imran Shahid, 29 and Mohammed Mushtaq, 27, for the brutal murder of Kriss Donald, a fifteen-year old schoolboy, states Sky News.

When the verdict was announced today, Kriss' mother Angela shouted "You bastards". Afterwards, she thanked the police, and accompanied by her daughter she said: "Justice has been done. Thank you. It's over."

At no stage in the trial have the three defendants shown any remorse for what they had done.

The judge in the 27-day trial, Lord Uist, said Imran Shahid will serve a minimum of 25 years' jail before being considered for parole. Zeeshan "Crazy" Shahid, his brother, would serve 23 years before being eligible for parole, and Mushtaq would serve 22 years.

Lord Uist called the crime "diabolical" and said that Kriss' pain "during the period between being stabbed and set alight and his death is just beyond imagination."

Pictured from previous appearances in court, left to right - Imran Shahid, Zeeshan Shahid, and Mohammed Mushtaq.

The three convicted killers were shown on UK TV leaving the court. All three were smiling. Zeeshan Shahid muttered something about the inadequacies of British "justice" and Mushtaq gave a contemptuous gesture as he was escorted into a van to be taken to prison.

As is usually the case following a conviction, the press is allowed to report on a convict's previous convictions. Imran Shahid, leader of the gang, was 17 in 1994. He attacked a man on the street with a baseball at that time, leaving his victim with brain damage. He fled to Pakistan, but received a four-year jail term when he returned. He was then jailed for two years, after he punched a woman social worker and drove a car at her.

He is alleged to have cut the finger off a man who had dated one of his sisters. The story goes that he put the finger in a glass of milk and handed it to the victim.

Zeeshan too has a criminal past, being given an 18 month sentence for "culpable and reckless conduct". Mushtaq has several road offence convictions, with one leading to a five month jail term. They comprised the trio at the heart of a gang called the "Shielders" with Imran Shahid at its head.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 8, 2006 11:04 PM

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Posted by: Sir Henry Morgan at November 9, 2006 4:04 PM

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