HMP Fosse Way prisoner felt unsafe before he was killed, trial told

A prisoner “bullied” by other inmates had asked to move cells as he did not feel safe the day before he was killed, a court has heard.

Mahir Abdulrahman, also known as Mahir Mohamed, was found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Fosse Way in Glen Parva, Leicestershire, on 20 August 2024 and pronounced dead at the scene.

Shaan Karim, 38, Thierry Robinson, 21, and Ashirie Smith, 18, are on trial at Leicester Crown Court and deny the 31-year-old’s murder.

The prosecution told the court it was clear the three men “each shared the intention” to at least seriously injure Mr Abdulrahman.

All three appeared in the dock together on Monday as the trial began, sitting apart and separated by prison officers.

Michael Burrows KC, prosecuting, said Mr Karim “kept watch” outside the cell, while Mr Robinson and Mr Smith were inside attacking Mr Abdulrahman, stamping on and kicking his head and neck, causing a fatal bleed on the brain.

Mr Burrows said Mr Robinson and Mr Smith accepted they entered Mr Abdulrahman’s cell, but claimed they only wanted to speak to him about an incident the day before, in which he had thrown water from a kettle on them.

The court was told Mr Karim said in a phone conversation with his mother that Mr Robinson and Mr Smith had “gone in on” Mr Abdulrahman, and that he “could have done something” to stop them but did not.

He told her Mr Abdulrahman’s 35-week prison sentence for a sexual offence had led to other inmates “terrorising him for days”, the court heard.

Mr Burrows said Mr Abdulrahman had asked a prison officer the day before he died if he could move cells because he did not feel safe.

In the half an hour after the attack, Mr Burrows said, all three defendants returned at different points to look into Mr Abdulrahman’s cell and on two occasions, other inmates threw water at him to see if it would “jolt him back to life”.

The court heard that another inmate told a prison officer she should check on Mr Abdulrahman, and she found him slumped in the cell at 07:53 BST.

Attempts by prison staff and paramedics to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at 08:44.

The trial was told Mr Abdulrahman had previously had tuberculosis, which weakened the bones in his neck.

A post-mortem examination found abrasions and bruising to Mr Abdulrahman’s head and neck, consistent with an assault and fractures to his ribs, which would have required force “at the severe end of the scale”, Mr Burrows told the jury.

In another phone call to his mother about the attack, Mr Karim swore and called the other two defendants “animals”, and added: “There’s nothing to the guy and they’ve been bullying him for days.

“If you’re going to get the guy back, throw one or two punches and walk away, don’t go in on him, don’t stamp on him.

“There’s nothing to the kid, he’s just skin and bones.”

The trial continues.