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As Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was led to the cells to begin his three-and-a-half-year sentence for a "cowardly" attack on two female police officers, the full, unsettling portrait of a family caught between law enforcement and lawlessness finally emerged from the shadows of the courtroom.
While the 21-year-old university dropout from Rochdale was convicted of delivering a devastating blow that broke the nose of 5ft 2in PC Lydia Ward, and assaulting PC Ellie Cook and a member of the public, the 23-month legal saga that preceded his sentencing has exposed deep fractures within the machinery of British justice and the very institutions meant to uphold it.
In his mitigation, defence barrister Imran Khan KC painted a picture of a caring family man. The court heard that Amaaz comes from a large, integrated British-Pakistani household on Tarnside Close, Rochdale, and that his brother, Mohammed Abid, a serving police officer with Greater Manchester Police, described him as 'respectful, gentle and soft-spoken'.
This character reference, however, has been dramatically undermined. In a development not heard by the jury, Daily Dazzling Dawn can reveal that PC Abid has been suspended from duty and is the subject of a gross misconduct probe following allegations of racism . The officer is understood to be one of eight officers suspended in the same month the airport violence erupted, over complaints that a colleague's accent was 'mocked'.
Mr Abid denies using racist language, and his lawyer, Aamer Anwar, has claimed the leak of his identity was a "desperate" attempt to "smear" his clients . Yet the revelation that the family, which includes six relatives currently serving with GMP and a respected retired officer, Uncle Nazir Hussain, is now embroiled in its own internal police scandal adds a complex and troubling layer to the narrative.
The daily dazzling dawn of justice for PC Ward and PC Cook has not been mirrored for PC Zachary Marsden. While Amaaz was convicted of assaulting the women, the prosecution's case against him and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, over the assault on the armed firearms officer collapsed spectacularly.
Two juries, deliberating for almost 30 hours in total, failed to reach a verdict on whether the brothers assaulted PC Marsden . With the law establishing a "clear presumption" against a third trial unless there are "exceptional circumstances," the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it would not pursue a further hearing, leading to not guilty verdicts being formally recorded.`
This legal conclusion has ignited a firestorm of controversy. The decision was taken at the "highest level" of the CPS, but it leaves the public with the unsettling reality that the brothers, who were filmed throwing a combined 16 punches in the melee, will not face final judgment for the alleged assault on a male officer.
The court was moved by the visceral victim impact statements. Sgt Ward, who had to bring her newborn baby to court while breastfeeding, challenged her attacker to "take a good look at me... You see a female... You chose to attack a female" . PC Cook, who had her dreams of becoming a close protection officer shattered, said, "I am now broken".
Yet, the wider public is still left with unanswered questions. The Independent Office for Police Conduct continues to investigate PC Marsden's conduct, including the viral kick to Amaaz's head, and a second officer is also under criminal investigation over the use of force.
The Amaaz family maintains that the incident was sparked by racial abuse directed at their mother, Shameem Akhtar, on a flight from Pakistan, and that they were acting in self-defence . This claim, coupled with the revelation of their brother's suspension, ensures that while Amaaz now begins his prison sentence, the full truth of that chaotic day at Manchester Airport—and the institutions tasked with policing it—remains tantalisingly out of reach.
