By Neil Shaw
Two brothers used a 鈥渉igh level of violence鈥 in assaulting police officers at Manchester Airport, a jury has heard, breaking a police woman’s nose. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, are said to have struck out after police were called to respond to an earlier incident at the Starbucks cafe in the Terminal 2 building on July 23 last year. Amaaz delivered a headbutt to the face of a member of a public and punched him in Starbucks, Liverpool Crown Court heard. Opening the prosecution case on Friday, Paul Greaney KC said officers who were already in the airport later traced them at the terminal鈥檚 car park payment area. Three officers, Pc Zachary Marsden and Pc Ellie Cook 鈥 both armed 鈥 and Pc Lydia Ward, unarmed, approached the defendants, he said. Mr Greaney went on: 鈥淭he 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. Both defendants assaulted Pc Marsden. In the moments that followed, the first defendant also assaulted Pc Cook and then Pc Ward too, breaking her nose. 鈥淭he defendants used a high level of violence.鈥 Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden and Pc Ward, causing them actual bodily harm. He is also accused of the assault of Pc Cook and the earlier assault of Abdulkareem Ismaeil at Starbucks. Amaad, 26, is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden, causing actual bodily harm. Both men, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny the allegations. Mr Greaney said the defendants had travelled to the airport with their young nephew to collect their mother who was due to arrive back on a flight from Qatar. The prosecutor said: 鈥淎 man named Abdulkareem Ismaeil was on the same flight as the defendants鈥 mother. He was travelling with his wife and three young children. 鈥淚t is clear that on the flight and/or shortly after it landed, something happened between the defendants鈥 mother and Abdulkareem Ismaeil that made the defendants鈥 mother unhappy. The defendants met their mother in the arrivals area of Terminal 2 and began to walk to the car park with her and the child that was with them. As they did so, they passed a Starbucks coffee house. 鈥淎bdulkareem Ismaeil was in there with his wife and children. The defendants鈥 mother spotted Abdulkareem Ismaeil and pointed him out to her sons. At just after 8.20pm, the defendants entered Starbucks and confronted Abdulkareem Ismaeil. 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. 鈥淭he prosecution case is that this was obviously unlawful conduct.鈥 Mr Greaney told jurors the prosecution鈥檚 position was this was 鈥渘ot a complicated case鈥. He said: 鈥淭he events you are concerned with were captured by CCTV cameras and, in relation to the events in the payment area on the body-worn cameras of police officers as well. 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. 鈥淭he two defendants assert, as we understand it, 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.鈥 Jurors were then shown the CCTV footage from the incident at Starbucks, lasting around one minute and 50 seconds, before it was replayed for a second time. It shows the defendants walking past the shop until their mother sees the man she had the disagreement with and points him out to her sons. Her youngest son then appears to confront Mr Ismaeil, who is with his wife and children. The footage shows Mr Ismaeil backed against the counter of the Starbucks with Amaaz close to him. The CCTV has no sound but a verbal argument appears to ensue for around 30 seconds before Amaaz suddenly delivers a headbutt to Mr Ismaeil鈥檚 face, followed by a punch to the same area with his left fist. He then tries to punch Mr Ismaeil with his right fist. Mr Greaney told jurors the violence was entirely unlawful and delivered out of 鈥渁nger鈥 and not in self-defence. The prosecutor said Mr Ismaeil is not a witness so the jury will not hear from him. He was visiting the UK with his family and just wanted to get on with his holiday and declined to give a statement to police. Mr Greaney added: 鈥淗owever, the absence of evidence from him makes it no less easy to conclude that the first defendant behaved unlawfully in Starbucks.鈥