A man who fled to France after stabbing an Afghan asylum seeker to death in London over a £10 drug debt has been jailed for 24 years.
Moosakhan Nasiri, 20, also known as Moosa, died after being attacked by fellow Afghans in an east London park in October 2017.
Members of a group punched and kicked him before he was killed after being stabbed once in the chest by Javid Ahmadzai, jurors at the Old Bailey were told.
Ahmadzai, now 28, was found guilty of murder and violent disorder following a trial, which heard the attack took place because the victim owed £10 for some drugs that he could not pay back immediately.
An argument broke out between him and three of the group before the defendant received a phone call summoning him to the park to join in.
After the killing, Ahmadzai fled to France where in September 2018 he was convicted of stabbing a man in the chest during a row over the behaviour and language of the group he was in.
On the day of his release from French custody on June 21 last year, he was extradited to the UK and arrested for murder.
Sentencing Ahmadzai at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Judge Mark Dennis KC told the court the defendant had first moved to the UK from Afghanistan to claim asylum as a teenager.
"But he had been refused, and in due course, he had been deported back to Afghanistan in 2015," he said.
"It was stated in evidence by him that he had re-entered the country illegally in early 2017."
He said that Ahmadzai had "multiple" previous convictions for violent or aggressive offending between 2013-2014.
He added that Ahmadzai's use of a knife in the murder of Mr Nasiri "was a senseless and cowardly act against an unarmed and defenceless victim".
The court heard a victim impact statement from Mr Nasiri's cousin, Daud Musafar, who said he could not believe that his cousin had been murdered.
"When I found out, I could not believe what I was hearing, especially in a safe country like the UK," he said.
"Moosakhan was a young man, who lost his life at such a young age.
"He was a happy and active young man and we were very close to each other, just like brothers. We looked after each other in the UK."
He said that Ahmadzai's conviction meant that he and his family could "move on".
He added: "Although Moosakhan will never come back, the conviction of Javid has brought an end to this part of our lives.
"I would like to let the judge and the court know, how much I suffered during this time and how this situation has affected my life."
The court heard that Mr Nasiri came to the UK in 2005 to seek asylum because of the actions of the Taliban.
He lived in Bradford before moving to London to stay with an Afghan foster family who lived near the park where he died.
Although he was not entitled to work in the UK, he would find occasional employment as a labourer, jurors were told.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Under-21 European Championship Final
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Weiser (40')
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
RESULTS
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Company%20profile
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
Company%20profile
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UAE squad
Men's draw: Victor Scvortov and Khalifa Al Hosani, (both 73 kilograms), Sergiu Toma and Mihail Marchitan (90kg), Ivan Remarenco (100kg), Ahmed Al Naqbi (60kg), Musabah Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Hosani (66kg)
Women’s draw: Maitha Al Neyadi (57kg)
The%20team
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Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
