Islamic extremist murdered Hartlepool man over Gaza - prosecutors

An Islamic extremist murdered a man in the street in protest against the Israel and Gaza conflict, a court has heard.

Ahmed Alid, 45, fatally stabbed Terence Carney, 70, after "chancing" upon him in Hartlepool in October, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Mr Alid denies murder and the attempted murder of his housemate.

Prosecutors said he wanted to kill people in support of Palestine and to oppose Israel.

Warning - this report contains distressing details

The court heard Mr Alid was a Moroccan asylum seeker living with three other men at a home in Wharton Terrace in Hartlepool.

In his opening speech, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said that several days before the killing, Mr Alid had been reported to Cleveland Police, a church and housing managers by one of his three housemates, Javed Nouri, because of his behaviour.

The prosecutor said Mr Alid "followed an extreme interpretation of Islam" and believed Mr Nouri, 31 at the time, was an "apostate", or "someone who had denied their religion", as he was converting to Christianity, which meant he "deserved to die".

At about 05:00 BST on 15 October 2023, Mr Alid "broke" into Mr Nouri's bedroom and started to stab him with a kitchen knife while shouting "Allahu Akbar", or "God is greatest", Mr Sandiford said.

There was then a struggle in which Mr Nouri suffered six stab wounds, including deep injuries to his chest and mouth.

Mr Sandiford said Mr Nouri described the attack, which left the bloodied knife broken and bent, as a "nightmare".

Part of the violence was caught on a 999 call made by a housemate of the two men, which was played to jurors.

In the recording, Mr Nouri could be heard screaming and Mr Alid repeatedly shouting "Allahu Akbar", Mr Sandiford said.

The caller said there was a "lot of blood" and there had been "fighting with a knife", jurors heard.

Mr Nouri was able to force Mr Alid out of the room, and the 45-year-old accused fled the house armed with a second knife.

Mr Sandiford said Mr Carney was out having a habitual walk in Hartlepool when he was "chanced" upon by Mr Alid on Avenue Road at about 05:30.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the fatal attack on Mr Carney, in which the "defenceless" victim could be repeatedly heard shouting "no" as he lay on the ground while Mr Alid circled and stabbed him.

Police officers responding to the 999 call on Wharton Terrace found Mr Carney lying in the street but, despite their efforts, he died at about 06:00.

Mr Carney had suffered six stab wounds to his chest, abdomen and back, Mr Sandiford said.

In his police interview, Mr Alid told officers he had "wanted to kill" the two men and would have "killed more people if he had been able to do so", Mr Sandiford said.

The prosecutor said Mr Alid claimed he wanted to kill people "because of the conflict in Gaza" and his "desire that Palestine would be free from the Zionists, by which he meant the state of Israel".

Mr Sandiford said Mr Alid, who at that time believed Mr Nouri had died as well, admitted both attacks and said he had "killed two adults because Israel had killed innocent children".

He also said he if had a "machine gun and more weapons" he would have "killed more victims", Mr Sandiford said.

Mr Alid told police Mr Carney was an "innocent victim" who was killed "because Britain had created the Zionist entity (Israel) and should make it leave".

He also said Britain was "on the verge of an explosion" and there would be more attacks, adding Israel "killed children and I killed an old man", Mr Sandiford said.

Jurors were told Mr Alid's housemates noticed him taking an intense interest in the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel and they were "frightened" of him, as he had taken to carrying a knife.

After Mr Nouri's complaint on 9 October, housing officers warned Mr Alid about his actions, while the "police rightly or wrongly took the view the defendant had committed no offence" so "no further action was taken", Mr Sandiford said.

Mr Sandiford said the complaint was an additional motive for the attack on Mr Nouri.

Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said it was "unlikely" Mr Alid would dispute stabbing the two men but she told jurors the "central issue" for them to decide would be what he intended.

She said prosecutors had to prove Mr Alid intended to kill or cause really serious harm to Mr Carney and Mr Nouri.

Mr Alid also denies two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, in which it is alleged he attacked two female police officers at the end of his interview.

The trial continues.

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