Three men including a teenager have been found guilty of murder after a driver who ‘touched the hearts of everyone he met’ was stabbed 11 times at a set of traffic lights.
Sadiq Al-Lami was brutally murdered in the street following a high speed pursuit between two Mercedes cars in East Didsbury, south Manchester.
In a desperate scene he shouted ‘help me’ as he lay dying in the road while his killers fled, a trial at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Two of his assailants, brothers Sikander Babar and Abdul Babar, were found by police in the back of a lorry in Essex, apparently trying to leave the country.
Sultan Bakr, 22, Sikander Babar, 24, and Abdul Babar, 19, were all found guilty of murder after jurors deliberated for five hours. Two other men, Noraiz Kamal, 18, and Yousaf Ahmed, 24, were acquitted of murder and manslaughter.
Sadiq Al-Lami was brutally murdered in the street following a high speed pursuit between two Mercedes cars in East Didsbury, south Manchester
In a desperate scene he shouted ‘help me’ as he lay dying in the road while his killers fled, a trial at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard
Two of the accused told police that both cars had been ‘racing’ prior to the killing, while prosecutors described it as a ‘high-speed pursuit’
Prosecutors said that Bakr and the Babar brothers were all involved in the horrific attack on Mr Al-Lami. Mr Kamal was the driver of a Mercedes containing all five defendants while Mr Ahmed was accused of encouraging and assisting the others.
Two of the accused told police that both cars had been ‘racing’ prior to the killing, while prosecutors described it as a ‘high-speed pursuit’.
Prosecutor David McLachlan KC claimed the cars coming together at the traffic lights was not an ‘innocent meeting’. He said the men in both cars were out at ‘an unusual time’, shortly after 1am on January 23 this year.
He added Mr Al-Lami had left home at 1:21am and arrived at the traffic lights at 1:35am.
McLachlan said that in the moments before their meeting, the black Mercedes had been seen driving at ‘high speed’ and went through a red light. A witness claimed it had hit speeds of around 90mph in a 40mph zone.
A couple of minutes earlier, the witness had seen Mr Al-Lami’s car which had been travelling at a ‘normal’ speed.
When the cars joined each other the witness reported seeing men in both vehicles get out before a fight broke out. Mr Al-Lami was holding a ‘drain pipe’, the jury was told.
A witness said he saw one man holding him by the neck while another stabbed him. He said the man had Mr Al-Lami in a ‘bear hug’ as he tried to run away.
Jurors were told the witness heard him shouting ‘help me’, with a pathologist later saying the victim had been stabbed 11 times to his chest and legs
In interviews with police, Sultan Bakr said the cars had started ‘street racing’ prior to the incident and said Sikander Babar was ‘shouting’ at the other car. He said he got out of the car after hearing ‘loud screaming’
Jurors were told the witness heard him shouting ‘help me’, with a pathologist later saying the victim had been stabbed 11 times to his chest and legs.
Mr McLachlan said: ‘The black Mercedes then drove off at speed and yet again went through another red light. They left Sadiq Al-Lami to die on the road.’
He said that by 1:59am the Mercedes had been abandoned in Wythenshawe. Jurors were told that as the Mercedes had left the scene, a package fell from the car which contained Mr Kamal’s name and address. He was arrested at his home hours later, just after 6am.
Abdul Babar and Sikander Babar were arrested on January 29 after being found by police in the back of a lorry in Essex. Jurors heard that the day before, Sultan Bakr was arrested at his sister’s home in London after he allegedly ‘decided to get off’.
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In interviews with police, Sultan Bakr said the cars had started ‘street racing’ prior to the incident and said Sikander Babar was ‘shouting’ at the other car. He said he got out of the car after hearing ‘loud screaming’. Bakr said he saw Mr Al-Lami on the floor.
Bakr told police: ‘I’ve seen Sikander sort of kicking the victim in the head and Abdul using a sharp object and hitting him, I’m not sure where it was.’ He said he was in ‘complete shock’ and told the driver to stop after they left the area. He said he had travelled to London because he ‘feared for his safety’.
Sikander Babar answered ‘no comment’ to questions, and Abdul Babar provided a prepared statement denying murder. Mr Kamal, the driver of the car, told police ‘this guy’ was ‘chasing me just before the traffic lights’ and there was an ‘altercation’ between his back seat passengers and the other car.
He said he did not see any weapons and didn’t witness the incident. Mr Ahmed said that ‘both cars were racing’ along the road before Mr Al-Lami put his window down and asked: ‘Have you got a problem?’.
When the cars joined each other the witness reported seeing men in both vehicles get out before a fight broke out. Mr Al-Lami was holding a ‘drain pipe’, the jury was told
Shortly after, Mr Ahmed said he saw Mr Al-Lami, Abdul Babar and Sikander Babar on the floor.
Mr Ahmed said that after in the car he heard Sikander Babar say that he had ‘punched’ the man ‘because he had swung that cosh at his brother’s head’. He also claimed that at one point on the drive away from the area, Abdul Babar said: ‘He’s been stabbed. I’ve stabbed him.’
Abdul Babar, of Ashdale Drive, Withington; Sikander Babar, of Ashdale Drive, Withington; and Bakr, of Hyde Road, Gorton, were all found guilty of murder. They are due to be sentenced next month.
Mr Ahmed, of Plaza Boulevard, Liverpool, and Mr Kamal, of Ashdale Drive, Withington, were found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.
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