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A man has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years for the homicide of a teenage Syrian asylum seeker after the victim brushed past his companion in Huddersfield town centre.

Court Hears Particulars of Deadly Confrontation

Leeds crown court was told how the defendant, aged 20, attacked with a knife Ahmad Al Ibrahim, aged 16, shortly after the boy passed his companion. He was found guilty of the killing on the fourth day of the week.

The victim, who had left conflict-ridden the city of Homs after being wounded in a blast, had been living in the Huddersfield area for only a few weeks when he met his attacker, who had been for a meeting at the job center that day and was planning to get eyelash glue with his girlfriend.

Particulars of the Attack

Leeds crown court was informed that the accused – who had taken weed, cocaine, a prescription medication, an anesthetic and a painkiller – took “some petty exception” to the boy “harmlessly” walking past his companion in the street.

Security camera video revealed the man uttering words to Ahmad, and summoning him after a short verbal altercation. As the boy walked over, Franco opened the blade on a switchblade he was carrying in his pants and plunged it into the victim's neck.

Verdict and Sentencing

Franco pleaded not guilty to murder, but was found guilty by a trial jury who deliberated for just over three hours. He confessed to possessing a knife in a public area.

While sentencing the defendant on last Friday, the court judge said that upon observing the victim, the defendant “marked him as a victim and lured him to within your reach to strike before killing him”. He said Franco’s claim to have noticed a knife in the victim's belt was “false”.

He said of Ahmad that “it is evidence to the healthcare workers trying to save his life and his determination to live he even arrived at the hospital breathing, but in reality his wounds were lethal”.

Relatives Reaction and Statement

Reciting a declaration written by his relative Ghazwan Al Ibrahim, with help from his family, the legal representative told the court that the teenager’s father had suffered a heart attack upon being informed of his boy's killing, leading to an operation.

“It is hard to express the impact of their awful offense and the effect it had over all involved,” the message read. “The victim's mother still sobs over his belongings as they smell of him.”

The uncle, who said the boy was like a son and he felt ashamed he could not shield him, went on to explain that the victim had thought he had found “the land of peace and the fulfilment of dreams” in Britain, but instead was “cruelly taken away by the pointless and random violence”.

“Being his relative, I will always bear the shame that he had traveled to England, and I could not ensure his safety,” he said in a declaration after the sentencing. “Dear Ahmad we adore you, we yearn for you and we will feel this way eternally.”

History of the Teenager

The trial was told the teenager had journeyed for a quarter of a year to arrive in Britain from Syria, staying at a shelter for young people in a city in Wales and studying in the Welsh city before moving to his final destination. The boy had hoped to work as a physician, motivated partly by a desire to support his parent, who was affected by a long-term health problem.