Asylum seeker who murdered pensioner in 'revenge' for Israel-Hamas war sentenced to over 44 years in prison

A jury found Alid guilty of murder, attempted murder and two charges of assaulting police officers.

He has been given a minimum sentence of 44 years and 52 days in prison at a sentencing hearing at Teesside Crown Court.

Alid had attempted to murder his housemate, Christian convert and former bodybuilder Javed Nouri, by breaking into his bedroom and hacking at him while he slept.

He shouted "Allahu Akbar", 'God is great' during the attack at the Home Office-approved asylum seekers’ accommodation before fleeing into the street, still armed with a knife.

Doorbell camera footage showed Carney, who was out walking in the town centre, cry out “No, no” as he was stabbed by the stranger.

Prosecutors at Teesside Crown Court said it was not a frenzied attack but a deliberate attempt to target Carney’s body repeatedly before he walked off, leaving his victim for dead.

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In a holding cell at Middlesbrough police station after his arrest, Alid launched into a speech in Arabic saying that "Allah willing, Gaza would return to be an Arab country."

He added how he would have continued his "raid" if his hands had not been injured. Alid, who strongly disapproved of Nouri’s conversion to Christianity, said God was “displeased” with those who went astray.

At the sentencing hearing today, Justice Cheema-Grubb, ruled that Ahmed Alid had committed terrorist offences when he murdered Terence Carney and attempted to murder his housemate Javed Nouri. She said due to time spent on remand, Alid would serve 44 years and 52 days in prison.

The judge told Alid the jury had “seen through (his) lies” after he claimed the explanations he gave to the police had been mistranslated and that political and religious causes were not his actual motivation.

Mr Carney’s wife Patricia Carney said her husband went out walking early every morning because he enjoyed the peace and quiet on the streets.

In a statement read to the court, she said: "Tess was doing what he had always done and enjoyed doing – he was taking a walk on a street he believed to be safe and a chance encounter with this man ended his life."

Her statement said she could no longer go into town because it was “too painful” to be near the spot where her husband was murdered, adding: "From that day on, my life would be forever changed. I don’t feel anything anymore."

Javed Nouri, 31, said since the attack, he did not "trust anyone or anything" and that "all thoughts and feelings I had of being in a safe country have gone."

During Alid’s trial, jurors heard his housemates noticed he had watched a lot of coverage of the Hamas attacks on Israel and began carrying a knife. Concerned, Mr Nouri complained to housing bosses, the Home Office and Cleveland Police, and a manager warned Alid to behave or risk being thrown out.

Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, told the court: "He said he had committed the attempted murder of Javed Nouri and the murder of Mr Carney in revenge for what he believed to be the killing of children by Israel

"He swore by Allah that, if he had had a machine gun and more weapons, he would have killed more victims.”

Alid admitted Carney was "innocent", justifying the attack by saying that Britain had created the "Zionist entity" of Israel and should make them leave, adding: "They killed children and I killed an old man."

Justice Cheema-Grubb, ruled that Alid had committed terrorist offences when he murdered Carney and attempted to murder Nouri.