A man who punched a female police officer in the face with such force that he broke her nose at Manchester Airport, then “played the victim” when only partial footage of the incident circulated on social media, has been jailed for three and a half years.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after being convicted of actual bodily harm against PC Lydia Ward and assault against PC Ellie Cook. He was also convicted of a separate assault on a member of the public at an airport Starbucks earlier in the same incident.
The events unfolded on 23 July 2024 when Amaaz and his 26-year-old brother Muhammad Amaad arrived at Manchester Airport to collect their mother from a flight. Before police became involved, Amaaz entered a Starbucks at the airport and headbutted Abdulkareem Ismaeil, claiming the man had racially abused his mother during the flight. Officers were called and attempted to detain the brothers, who resisted. Prosecutors told the court that Amaaz threw ten punches, two elbow strikes and a kick during the confrontation, while his brother aimed six blows at firearms officer PC Zachary Marsden.
The case became nationally controversial after footage showing a kick and stamp by PC Marsden on Amaaz was widely shared on social media in the days following the incident, sparking public protests. Days later, CCTV footage leaked to the media showed that a significant number of punches had been thrown at the officers before that moment, including at PC Marsden and his two female colleagues.
In a victim impact statement read at the sentencing hearing, PC Ward addressed Amaaz directly with a composure that drew attention across the courtroom. “You chose to attack a female. You knocked me to the ground with one punch, with so much force you broke my nose,” she said. “How would you feel if a male did that to your mother? How would you feel if it was your mother standing here today explaining how she was violently assaulted by a male?”
She reserved particular anger for what she described as Amaaz’s exploitation of public sympathy in the aftermath of the incident. “What angers me is that afterwards, when only part of the footage was out in the public, you played the victim. You are not a victim. I am the one who was injured, not you. You had the whole world listening to you and you showed no remorse. Not one ounce. You allowed the public to feel sorry for you. You made out like we had done something wrong when all we were doing was our job.”
Amaaz and Amaad were also charged with assaulting PC Marsden, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on that charge after two trials. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed last month that it would not pursue a third trial on that count. Both men had claimed throughout the proceedings that they acted in lawful self-defence, or in defence of each other.
