Moroccan asylum seeker Ahmed Ali Alid murdered ‘defenceless pensioner’ in rampage motivated by Gaza, court hears
A Moroccan asylum seeker murdered a “defenceless” pensioner in a rampage motivated by the conflict in Gaza, a court has heard.
Ahmed Ali Alid, 45, attempted to kill his housemate, Javed Nouri, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, because he believed Nouri was an apostate – meaning someone who has abandoned their religion, Teesside Crown Court was told.
He then went out onto the streets of Hartlepool where he encountered Terence Carney, 70, who was out for a morning walk, attacking him and stabbing him to death, the jury heard.
Following his arrest, Alid admitted being responsible for the attempted murder of Nouri and the murder of Carney.
However, he is now on trial after pleading not guilty to both charges and to assaulting two female police officers who had interviewed him after his arrest.
Alid told police the attacks on the two men on 15 October last year, a week after the Hamas attacks on Israel, were “because of the conflict in Gaza” and to remove “Zionists” from Palestine, the court heard.
He said he would have killed others if he had not been stopped and was prepared to be a martyr, the jury was told.
Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, told the court there had been “friction” between Alid and Mr Nouri who lived in asylum accommodation in Wharton Terrace along with two other men.
“Mr Nouri had been a Muslim who had converted to Christianity. He was attending a local church in Hartlepool,” Mr Sandiford said.
“The defendant was Muslim. The evidence would indicate he was quite a strict Muslim. He seems to have regarded Mr Nouri as a murtad, or apostate, who therefore deserved to die.”
Mr Nouri and his other housemates formed the view that Alid followed an “extreme interpretation of Islam”, the court was told.
On 7 October – the day on which Hamas launched an attack on Israel from Gaza – and the days afterwards, they noted that Alid was paying particular attention to coverage of the attacks, the jury heard.
Alid had taken to keeping a knife with him in the house and began making threats towards Mr Nouri and the other two housemates who were afraid of what he might do, the court was told.
On 9 October, Mr Nouri allegedly reported their concerns to the housing managers and to friends at his church in Hartlepool, who advised him to contact the police.
The housing managers visited the property on 10 October and warned Alid he would have to leave the house if his behaviour continued, the jury heard.
Mr Nouri was asked to return to the police station on 13 October, when he was told “rightly or wrongly the police were of the view that the defendant had committed no offences so advice was given to Mr Nouri on what to do if things developed further”, the court was told.
At 5am on Sunday 15 October, Mr Nouri was in bed asleep when Alid broke into his bedroom armed with two knives and attacked him, the jury heard.
Mr Nouri allegedly heard Alid kick the door in and woke up to find him shouting “Allahu Akbar”, meaning “God is great”, and stabbing him in the upper chest near to his heart.
He managed to kick Alid away and run for the door but was then allegedly attacked from behind and stabbed in the face, before managing to get Alid into a headlock and wrestling one of the knives from him, the jury was told.
One of his housemates came to his assistance and they bundled Alid out of the room and sat with their backs against the door as Alid kicked at it, attempting to get back in, the court heard.
However, one of the knives had ended up in the corridor and Alid allegedly picked it up and went out on to the street where he passed Mr Carney on an early morning walk, circling back and approaching him from behind.
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A police cordon at Wharton Terrace in Hartlepool where Javed Nouri was found with injuries
The jury has watched CCTV footage which shows Carney being stabbed a number of times while “effectively defenceless” and crying out: “No, No.”
“Despite Mr Carney’s injuries, he appears to have been able to get to his feet and move a short distance along Tees Street to the junction with Raby Road where he collapsed and ultimately died,” Mr Sandiford said.
Alid said after his arrest that he had attacked the two adults “because Israel had killed innocent children” and swore that, if he had had a machine gun, and more weapons, he would have killed more victims, the court heard.
He described Mr Carney as an “innocent victim, killed because Britain created the Zionist entity” and said he wanted to “make it leave”, the jury was told.
The court heard that he added: “They killed children and I killed an old man.”
Alid swore by Allah that if the “colonisation” – by which he appeared to mean by Israel – did not leave, Britain was “on the verge of an explosion and there would be more victims”, the jury heard.
He said Britain would be a “wreck” and that two victims being lost was better than the whole of Britain being lost, the court was told.
The jury heard the interview concluded with Alid swearing by Allah that he was “ready for shahada” – martyrdom.
Prince Andrew was among members of the royal family who attended the traditional Easter Sunday service in Windsor.
It is the second year in a row that the Duke of York has joined the King and Queen at St George’s Chapel, appearing to enter the chapel quickly after his eldest brother’s arrival.
Other members of the royal family, including Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice and Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, also gathered outside the church.
The Duke of York leaving St George’s Chapel. Pic: PA
William and Kate did not attend the annual service, deciding instead to spend time with their children, George, Charlotte and Louis, in Norfolk before they go back to school.
Crowds wished the King and Queen a Happy Easter as they left the chapel, with two children presenting Camilla with a bunch of flowers, before they were driven away.
King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving at St George’s chapel. Pic: PA
The Princess Royal. Pic: PA
Andrew was seen glancing at a member of the crowd, who wished him a “Happy Easter” before the duke walked off with his ex-wife.
The duke has not been pictured at a formal royal family event since last Easter. He missed the royal family’s traditional Christmas gathering at Sandringham amid the controversy surrounding his links to an alleged Chinese spy.
He disappeared from public life after stepping down from official duties in March 2020, following his explosive TV interview with BBC’s Newsnight.
The Duchess of Edinburgh followed by Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. Pic: PA
Sarah Ferguson. Pic: PA
The Easter sermon is traditionally led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but was today led by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, from York Minster.
Mr Cottrell has temporarily taken over the role after Justin Welby announced he was stepping down in November last year, after an independent review found he “could and should” have reported decades-long abuse of men and young boys by his former friend, the barrister John Smyth QC.
Mr Cottrell has also apologised for his handling of the case.
Pic: PA
The Queen waves to crowds in Windsor. Pic: PA
King’s message of ‘faith, hope and love’
Last year’s Easter Sunday service was the King’s first major public appearance after he announced his cancer diagnosis.
The 76-year-old monarch is still receiving treatment for cancer, and last month, spent a short period of time in hospital after experiencing temporary side effects.
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King and Queen attend Maundy service
In his Easter message – a tradition he started when he was the Prince of Wales – Charles reflected on the examples of “great cruelty and great kindness” that “daily come before our eyes” – saying they should remind the world of the importance of the “virtues of faith, hope and love”.
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He shared the message last week ahead of attending the annual Maundy service at Durham Cathedral, where he presented the Maundy recipients – 76 men and 76 women – with two purses: one red and one white, containing Maundy Money.
The ancient tradition traces back to the 13th century and is given to recipients in recognition of outstanding Christian service and work in their local communities.
Police are appealing for information after seven statues – including one of suffragette Millicent Fawcett – were daubed with graffiti during a trans rights rally in London.
The Metropolitan Police said the criminal damage took place during the protest in Parliament Square, Westminster, on Saturday.
Thousands of people had gathered for an “emergency demonstration” following the Supreme Court ruling earlier this week on the definition of a woman.
The words “Trans rights are human rights” were written on a statue of South African statesman Jan Christian Smuts.
Graffiti on the statue of South African statesman Jan Christian Smuts in Parliament Square. Pic: PA
The Met Police said officers were trawling CCTV footage and no arrests have been made as yet.
Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell said: “Criminal damage and vandalism like this has no place on the streets of London and spoils the area for locals and those visiting.
“While the police support the public’s right to protest, criminality like this is senseless and unacceptable. We are pursuing this and will take action against those responsible.”
Graffiti on the statue of Millicent Fawcett. Pic: PA
Mr Bell said there were plans to remove the graffiti “but this requires specialist equipment and we are confident this will be done shortly”.
“We are keen to speak to those who saw anything on the day and urge anyone with information, pictures or footage to come forward,” he added.
The force has not shared details of which seven statues were defaced. Parliament Square is home to 12 statues of political figures including Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi.
Thousands of protesters joined the rally on Saturday. Pic: Daniel Bregman
The Met said it was also dealing with a number of complaints from the public about signs and images shared on social media that were reportedly displayed at the protest.
The force said while officers were investigating the displayed signs and images, they had so far proved to be from historic events, did not take place in London, or did not constitute a criminal offence.
The protest followed a long-awaited judgment delivered on Wednesday, when the UK’s highest court ruled the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.
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Gender ruling – How it happened
It essentially means trans women who hold gender recognition certificates are not women in the eyes of the law.
This means transgender women with one of the certificates can be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”.
The UK government said the unanimous decision by five judges brought “clarity and confidence” for women and service providers.
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