Manchester airport brawl began with Starbucks assault, jury hears

A man accused of assaulting police at Manchester Airport last summer had been “aggressive” and got “in the face” of a Starbucks customer before head-butting him, a jury has heard.

Brothers Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, are alleged to have used a “high level of violence” when assaulting three police officers at Terminal 2 on 23 July 2024.

Liverpool Crown Court heard police were at the airport responding to an incident at Starbucks in which Mr Amaaz is alleged to have headbutted a man and punched him.

Mr Amaaz and Mr Amaad, both from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, deny the allegations and claim self-defence.

Opening the prosecution’s case on Friday, Paul Greaney KC said police officers traced the brothers to the terminal’s car park payment area.

Mr Greaney told the court that two armed officers – PC Zachary Marsden and PC Ellie Cook – and their unarmed colleague PC Lydia Ward approached the defendants.

He said: “The officers attempted to move Mohammed Fahir Amaaz away from a payment machine in order to arrest him, but he resisted, and his brother Muhammad Amaad intervened.”

Mr Greaney said both suspects assaulted PC Marsden.

“In the moments that followed, the first defendant [Mr Amaaz] also assaulted PC Cook and then PC Ward too, breaking her nose,” Mr Greaney told members of the jury.

“The defendants used a high level of violence.”

Mr Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted PC Marsden and PC Ward, causing them actual bodily harm.

He is also accused of assaulting PC Cook and the earlier assault of Abdulkareem Ismaeil at Starbucks.

His older brother Mr Amaad is charged with assaulting PC Marsden, causing actual bodily harm.

Mr Greaney said the defendants had travelled to the airport with their young nephew to collect their mother, who was due to arrive on a flight from Qatar.

He said it was clear “something happened” involving Abdulkareem Ismaeil – who was on the same flight as the brothers’ mother – that had “made [her] unhappy”.

She pointed out Mr Ismaeil, who was in Starbucks with his family, to her sons as they were walking through the terminal.

“At just after 8.20pm, the defendants entered Starbucks and confronted Abdulkareem Ismaeil,” said Mr Greaney.

“During that confrontation, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz delivered a headbutt to the face of Abdulkareem Ismaeil and punched him, then attempted to deliver other blows, all in front of a number of children.

“The prosecution case is that this was obviously unlawful conduct.”

Starbucks manager Cameron Cartledge told the court he was in his office doing some paperwork when he heard “raised voices” and went to the door to see what was going on.

As his colleague prepared the Mr Ismaeil’s order at the counter, Mr Cartledge said he saw another man, wearing a blue tracksuit and subsequently identified as Mr Amaaz, “quite close to him, shouting at him”.

Mr Cartledge said the shouting was in a foreign language he did not understand.

The witness said: “At the time of the arguing he was very close to him, like in his face.

“Blue tracksuit man seemed quite aggressive, obviously annoyed about something, I don’t know what. Blue tracksuit man was aggressively shouting.

“His body language, his tone of voice, was quite aggressive.”

Mr Greaney asked: “What about Mr Ismaeil, the man with his back against the counter?”

The witness replied: “He had a raised voice, but I would say he was more defensive than aggressive.

“There was arguing, I don’t know what was being said, then blue tracksuit man headbutted the man we see in the black.

“He got him in the face. It did not look like it hurt Mr Ismaeil much but it was forceful enough to make him stagger back into the counter.”

Mr Cartledge said Mr Amaaz then threw two punches which he thought had landed on Mr Ismaeil’s shoulder.

Working at the airport, Mr Cartledge said he saw people “arguing all the time” but, after witnessing the headbutt, called police.

Imran Khan KC, defending Amaaz, suggested to Mr Cartledge that the conversation had been in English.

Mr Cartledge replied: “It didn’t sound like it was in English.”

Asked if he sensed any aggression from Mr Ismaeil, Mr Cartledge said: “No, he was more defensive. He just stood there probably more worried about his children behind him.”

Starbucks barista Justine Pakalne also told the court she did not believe the conversation between the two men had been in English.

Mr Khan put it to her that Mr Ismaeil had been the “aggressor” and that he had stepped forwards towards Mr Amaaz.

Ms Pakalne said: “Even if he stepped forward he didn’t lay a hand on him. It was the other way round – he (Amaaz) headbutted him.”

Mr Greaney told jurors the Crown’s case was this was “not a complicated case” since events had been captured on CCTV.

“So you will not have to depend only on the recollections of witnesses. You will also be able to see with your own eyes what happened,” he said.

He suggested the defendants would say “that at all stages they were acting in lawful self-defence or in defence of the other”.

“Our prediction is that you will readily conclude that the defendants were not acting in lawful self-defence and that their conduct was unlawful,” he added.

The trial is due to resume on Monday.