Fahir Amaaz – the young man dressed in black pictured here going about his business in Rochdale – is a name that will probably mean little to most people.
But almost everyone will remember the grainy mobile picture of him back in the summer, face down on the ground at Manchester Airport with an armed police officer’s boot on his head.
The clip was viewed by millions around the world. What preceded the 44-second film – and was crucially missing from the initial video – cast a different light on the drama which had unfolded on the concrete floor of a multi-storey car park next to the Terminal 2 building, the repercussions of which continue to be felt today.
The lead-up to the incident emerged in CCTV footage showing the moment police attempted to arrest the 19-year-old and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 25, following an altercation with a passenger, who had apparently insulted their mother, inside the airport. There then followed what appeared to be a mass brawl.
Fahir can be seen punching a female officer in the face – leaving her holding her bloody, broken nose – then engaging with a second female officer before turning on a male officer, who had received a barrage of blows from his brother, by grabbing him around the neck and putting him in a ‘chokehold’.
In all, around 15 punches were thrown by the pair and three officers, surrounded by a hostile crowd, were floored prior to Fahir being tasered by police and seemingly kicked in the head.
It was an indication of the occupational hazards routinely faced by those manning the thin blue line which is not always appreciated by those who are quick to rush to judgment. The CCTV footage provided context and changed the original narrative that led to two nights of protest in Manchester and Rochdale.
Both the officer and a colleague who restrained two other men who became embroiled in the chaos are now under criminal investigation for assault by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) which could take another month. Yet the separate criminal investigation into the brothers by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was completed on August 15 when a file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
However, more than four months on from their arrest – 123 days to be precise and counting – there are still no charges despite the graphic CCTV footage.
Why, is the question a growing number of people are asking. To put this in context it takes, on average, less than half that time, just 55 days, to charge someone who has been arrested for an offence of ‘violence against the person’, which includes everything from assault to murder. In the most straightfoward cases, it can take only a matter of hours or days.
The images captured on video would suggest this was one such case.
In fact, the inquiries into Fahir and Muhammad by Greater Manchester Police were concluded in just over three weeks. But the lives and careers of the two officers remain on hold while life continues almost as normal for the brothers. ‘It’s usual for things to happen much quicker but the CPS is frightened of being criticised,’ said an authoritative source in Greater Manchester Police who spoke to us on condition of anonymity. ‘I suspect the political situation at the moment has a lot to do with it because of the ethnicity of the family.
‘I have had conversations with the chief constable and the deputy chief constable about this. They are as frustrated as we are and as members of the public are but they can’t say that publicly.’
Either way, the treatment of Fahir, now 20, and his sibling, whose parents were born in Pakistan, epitomises what critics say is a ‘two-tier’ system of justice that has worsened under Labour.
The evidence, or inconsistencies at any rate, are not hard to find. Pro-Palestinian extremists displaying genocidal, anti-Semitic slogans frequently go unpunished or are treated leniently by the courts – ditto climate change activists – unlike those on the other side of the political divide who usually have the book thrown at them. The rioting in Southport on Merseyside in the summer, triggered by the knife killings of three children at a dance class, is an example.
Right-wing extremists involved in the unrest, including individuals who didn’t directly take part in the violence but posted inflammatory comments online, were swiftly dealt with which no one, apart from the culprits themselves, would disagree with.
But the same argument – fear of trouble erupting on the streets – is suspected of being used in reverse – as a reason not to charge the brothers in the airport incident, many in Greater Manchester Police believe – at least not until the IOPC investigation is concluded.
The delay, rightly or wrongly, has prompted Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, to launch a private prosecution against them this week. The specialist company instructed to mount Farage’s crowdfunded lawsuit, Essex-based TM Eye, has reached out to the officers themselves, via their Police Federation, the staff association for rank and file police, but they have been advised by federation lawyers not to engage with the firm.
They say they believe ‘Farage is playing politics’ which could jeopardise the prospects of a successful prosecution against the brothers. The Police Federation has also formally complained to the IOPC, we have learnt.
The federation says it is inappropriate that the person responsible for deciding whether the two police officers should be referred to the CPS for potential charges – Catherine Bates, the organisation’s acting regional director for the North-West – has also met the brothers in person. These are roles which, the federation argues, should be kept separate.
In a statement, the IOPC said: ‘The IOPC is an independent organisation – which is committed to being fair and effective – and any suggestion that a member of our staff involved in this investigation is not impartial is completely unfounded. Our investigation is the final stages… we expect to conclude it in the next month.’
All this means the controversy shows no sign of abating. Indeed, it is escalating.
The wider narrative is that 1,861 officers in the GMP, one of the biggest forces in the country, were assaulted last year, an average of more than 35 every week.
The fact that the IOPC is also investigating whether any officers were responsible for leaking the CCTV footage to the Manchester Evening News, which showed the brothers throwing punches, has done little to improve morale.
The complaints watchdog said it only acted after receiving a ‘conduct referral’ from GMP.
What of the two officers who are now facing possible career-ending criminal charges? ‘It’s really hard for the officers that it’s dragging on like this,’ our source said. ‘They’re both in a bad place. The way things are going this is going to carry on hanging over them through Christmas and beyond. They’re cops but they’re human beings as well.
‘They went through an incredibly traumatic experience and they’re being denied justice.
‘They’re firearms officers. They need to be regularly involved in training to maintain their skills but at the moment they’re not allowed to do that.
‘They’re worried that whatever happens, their future status as firearms officers is now under threat. But they’re encouraged by feeling the public support for them that’s out there.
‘It only makes having to wait for the CPS to make a decision even more frustrating.’
The chain of events which has had such far-reaching consequences began when the brothers arrived at the airport to meet their mother who had flown from Pakistan, stopping en route in Doha in Qatar to catch a connecting flight to Manchester, which touched down at around 7.20pm on July 23.
Words were said to have been exchanged onboard the plane with a male passenger which culminated, it is claimed, with him pushing his trolley into her in the baggage hall of the terminal.
Her sons, having learned what allegedly happened, sought him out in a Starbucks coffee shop where an altercation ensued which led to the brothers being arrested amid chaotic scenes in the car park.
A footnote to the drama is that the passenger, it turns out, was an off-duty policeman from Saudia Arabia who was holidaying with his family and did not wish to press charges.
The two videos of the violence, posted on July 24 and July 27, have now been viewed millions of times after being uploaded by most major media outlets.
Almost immediately, the brothers were being represented to the public by solicitor Akhmed Yakoob, a controversial and colourful figure who is known as the ‘TikTok lawyer’ because of the videos of the millionaire lifestyle he shares with his 200,000 or so followers.
The 36-year-old parted company with the brothers after the CCTV footage was leaked, blaming his decision on the media. ‘The media have tried to sabotage me,’ he said at the time. ‘They made it about me, not police misconduct.’
This from the man who is regularly seen wearing Prada trainers, a glittering diamond watch and gold-rimmed glasses, not to mention boasting about having a collection of supercars that has included a Lamborghini with personalised number plates.
Fahir and Muhammad Amaaz are now being represented by Aamer Anwar, one of Scotland’s most high-profile human rights lawyers. At a Press conference shortly after becoming their lawyer, he claimed Fahir had also been dragged out of view from CCTV cameras before an officer knelt on his neck. There had been a ‘campaign of disinformation,’ he insisted, ‘in an attempt to justify alleged police violence’.
Given that the first video resulted in hundreds of protesters, many wearing face masks, descending on the GMP divisional HQ in Rochdale – yet another example of mob rule on the streets of Britain – it is a thesis that is hard to sustain.
Mr Anwar stressed that the brothers, whose father is a taxi driver, did not have a single conviction, not even a speeding ticket, and that members of the family are, ironically, serving police officers with GMP.
Home is a red-brick detached property in Smallbridge, a suburb of Rochdale, where neighbours describe the family as ‘good and respectful’.
Fahir and Muhammad, two of four brothers, are well known in the community for their volunteer work with local Islamic charities. ‘I have never known the boys to be in any sort of trouble,’ said one woman who knows them.
The CPS confirmed that it is waiting for the IOPC, which is made up of civilians, to complete its investigation into the conduct of the two officers before final decisions are ‘communicated’.
‘There are many aspects to this case and we are working with the police and the IOPC to come to charging decisions,’ the CPS said in a statement.
‘That decision will be based on the evidence alone.
‘Political factors play no part when a specialist lawyer makes a charging decision.’
Not everyone, especially rank and file officers in the Greater Manchester Police, believe that.
- Additional reporting: Tim Stewart & Ian Leonard
