Posted on 01/27/2007 1:20:30 PM PST by kiriath_jearim
Four racist white teenagers were facing life sentences last night for the murder of an Asian taxi driver who was ambushed as he responded to a fare.
Mohammad Parvaiz, 42, was stoned and battered to death after he inadvertently became caught up in a dispute between neighbours.
He was lured to an isolated dead end, dragged from his cab and set upon by a gang armed with stones, bricks and fence posts.
During the unprovoked attack they were heard shouting racist taunts as they rained blows and kicks on their defenceless victim.
Minutes later Christopher Murphy, 18, who had stamped on Mr Parvaiz's head, inspected blood stains on his shoe and remarked to a friend in a pub: "I wonder if I've got Paki juice on the bottom of my shoes?"
Murphy, Graeme Slavin, 18, and Steven Utley, 17, were yesterday found guilty of murder after a six-week trial at Leeds Crown Court.
Michael Hand, 19, had earlier admitted the same charge.
There were gasps from the defendants' families in the public gallery as the verdicts were given.
Michael Beeby, 16, and Jason Harris, 17, were cleared of murder and manslaughter, but Beeby was convicted of violent disorder, which all the others admitted. The judge, Dame Heather Steel, lifted restrictions on naming some of the defendants after what she described as an "emotive and distressing case".
She adjourned sentence for reports but said Murphy and Hand would receive life sentences, while Utley and Slavin would be detained "at Her Majesty's pleasure".
After the hearing, the victim's wife, Naheed Kausar, who attended the trial each day, told how she saw her "very caring, happy and fantastic" husband in a mortuary on their 15th wedding anniversary.
She said: "He was my life and soul. I couldn't have asked for anyone better. Now that he is not here I feel incomplete."
The couple, who have three children, had an arranged marriage and lived in the Birkby area of Huddersfield, West Yorks, where he was known as a hardworking man.
Members of the gang who killed Mr Parvaiz regularly congregated at a flat in Huddersfield, where some of them also lived, to play computer games, smoke and sometimes drink.
They had been involved in altercations with an Asian man who lived nearby and some of his friends.
Six weeks before his murder, Mr Parvaiz was called to take the Asian men away after a revenge attack on the gang's flat in which bottles were hurled and a moped belonging to Murphy damaged.
The gang noticed the name "Lockwood Cars" on the side of his vehicle and targeted him after ordering a minibus to go to Golcar, near Huddersfield, on July 22.
A week after the murder almost 2,000 taxi drivers in the district held a one-day strike in a show of solidarity over Mr Parvaiz's death.
Det Supt Tim Forber, who led the murder inquiry, said his team had been moved by the strength and dignity of Mr Parvaiz's family.
He said: "His life ended because of a premeditated attack of mindless violence — this was pack mentality at its absolute worst.
"This dreadful crime shocked the community and many young witnesses came forward and assisted us with this investigation.
"I am grateful for their bravery and co-operation as, without them, this trial would not have been possible."
Too bad they don't have the death penalty over there.
Since the Brits dont execute anymore, those punks deserve their life sentences...
"Asian man" That covers a lot of territory. Can't we be a little more specific? I did see a reference to his possibily being a Pakistan but that was from one of the attackers. Can't the paper say "Middle Eastern"?
No. It is a British paper. It was not written for a non-British audience as its target. It is not how the language is used here. Middle Eastern would definitely not be Pakistani.
What difference does it make to you where the taxi driver was from? He was a human and these thugs killed him. End of story.
That's all.
I've never heard of Pakistan being classified as part of the Middle East. It's part of the Indian sub-continent.
You're probably right, but everytime I read about it here and in the newspapers, it is referred to as a Middle Eastern country.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.