Over the course of two trials and multiple legal hearings, lawyers for the brothers filmed brawling with police at Manchester Airport repeatedly tried to derail the case against them. Two juries were ultimately unable to reach verdicts about whether the armed officer filmed kicking Mohammed Fahir Amaaz in the face was the victim of an assault. But the 21-year-old former student has spent the past ten months behind bars after being convicted of offences against PC Zachary Marsden's two female colleagues and a Kuwaiti holidaymaker. Now that prosecutors have today opted not to push for a third trial, details of the extraordinary behind-the-scenes efforts of the brothers' legal teams can finally be reported.
Allegations of Bias
Among the catalogue of claims and counter-claims which were argued over at court in the absence of the jury were: allegations of 'bias' following a bizarre incident in which a member of court staff allegedly told the senior detective on the case that Amaaz should have been kicked 'harder'; a desperate effort by the defence to suppress the damning clip of the unprovoked headbutt which sparked the whole melee on the grounds the CCTV had no audio; 'vile' racist commentary on social media during the first trial which resulted in attempts to have the case thrown out – or, in what would have been an unprecedented move, jurors' phones examined; Reform UK leader Nigel Farage risking causing the first trial to collapse after he branded the brothers 'violent thugs' a fortnight into proceedings; attempts to bring up previous allegations of improper force against two of the police officers viciously assaulted by the brothers; and the judge being accused of sexism for criticising a female barrister's 'emotive submissions', with the defence later trying – and failing – to have him removed from the retrial.
Court Clerk's Remark
One of the strangest episodes of the original 2025 trial involved the court clerk's alleged quip about PC Zachary Marsden kicking younger brother Mohammed Fahir Amaaz in the face. It was this incident - filmed on an onlooker's mobile phone - which initially caused the July 2024 confrontation to go viral. CCTV shows Amaaz swinging a punch at Manchester Airport - hitting PC Lydia Ward in the nose. Police bodyworn camera footage shown to the court shows PC Ward being comforted by PC Cook afterwards. In a comment to senior investigating officer Detective Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes, the official was said to have laughingly told him: 'PC Marsden should have kicked Amaaz harder in the head.' Ahead of the 2026 retrial, lawyers for Amaaz argued that by passing the remark onto a fellow officer, DCI Hughes demonstrated Greater Manchester Police had a 'toxic' environment and an 'ingrained culture of hostility'. They sought to have the retrial held at a different court – a bid rejected by a senior judge who said there was no evidence of 'bias'. He did however rule that a new clerk and usher should be appointed.
Judge Recusal Attempt
An attempt to persuade Judge Neil Flewitt to 'recuse' himself from the retrial on grounds which included alleged 'intimidation' of female barristers also failed. He ruled that his own interventions during the first trial had been 'reasonable' and 'balanced' and refused to step aside for the retrial.
Legal Team Upgrades
The brothers' high-powered legal team represented a huge upgrade from the early days of the case when mobile phone footage of Amaaz being kicked in the head by PC Marsden sparked outrage. Back in July 2024 they hired controversial 'TikTok lawyer' Akhmed Yakoob, known for his catchphrase 'there is a defence for every offence'. Seizing the furious reaction to that first, one-sided view of the altercation, he ludicrously branded the arrest an attempted 'assassination'. The ostentatious Lamborghini-driving solicitor – who weeks earlier had come within 3,500 votes of becoming an MP in Birmingham on a pro-Gaza platform – has subsequently been charged with money laundering in an unrelated case. Instead, at both trials, Amaaz was represented by Imran Khan KC. Softly spoken and impeccably polite throughout the trial, the acclaimed human rights lawyer is best known as solicitor for murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence's family. Elder brother Muhammad Amaad – who rained punches on PC Marsden shortly before the kick – was represented by Chloe Gardner, a barrister at Michael Mansfield KC's chambers. Both counsel were instructed by Glasgow-based civil rights campaigner Aamer Anwar, whose clients include the family of Sheku Bayou, who died in police custody.
Evidence Suppression Attempts
A crucial part of the evidence in the trial was the CCTV of Amaaz headbutting Kuwaiti holidaymaker Abdulkareem Ismaeil outside a Starbucks in the arrivals area. It was this damning clip which - prosecutors maintained - provided the crucial context for the attempt to arrest Amaaz minutes later. Ahead of the first trial, Mr Khan argued it would be unfair to show jurors the footage because it had no audio. But Judge Flewitt rejected his argument after prosecutor Paul Greaney KC pointed out that CCTV in public places normally had no audio - yet had been used successfully in thousands of cases. For Amaad – who did not face charges over the Starbucks confrontation, and has not been convicted of any offences over what unfolded that day - Ms Gardner submitted that the jury should not hear the testimony of staff at the café who recalled Amaaz as being 'the aggressor'. Judge Flewitt slammed her 'irrational' stance and said to do so would make the trial 'unfair'.
Social Media and Trial Threats
During the first trial, the release of previously unseen bodycam footage showing PC Lydia Ward with blood streaming from her broken nose caused shock far beyond the courtroom. It sparked fierce online commentary – including threats which Mr Khan argued in the absence of the jury that the brothers 'can't have a fair trial'. Backing him up, Ms Gardner said they had been subjected to 'vile racist abuse and vitriol' online and suggested Amaad could not be expected to give evidence in such a 'hostile atmosphere'. Among those attracting their ire was crime campaigner Norman Brennan who – during the original trial – branded the brothers 'thugs' to his 110,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter. Also identified in court were hard right activist Tommy Robinson - said to have made posts 'hostile' towards the brothers - and Big Brother star turned outspoken TV panellist Narinder Kaur, who criticised the police officers. Mr Khan even suggested that jurors' mobile phones were checked to see if they'd been reading social media posts about the case – an idea given short shrift by Judge Flewitt, who said it would be 'wholly inappropriate'. He instead reminded jurors not to read online commentary and asked them to confirm that they were not doing so.
Nigel Farage's Remarks
Yet days later, on July 21, 2025, comments by Mr Farage at a press conference again threatened to derail proceedings. The Reform UK leader publicly branded the brothers 'those violent thugs in Manchester Airport who beat up the police officers'. His careless remarks – ironically at a live press conference trumpeting the party's tough law and order stance - could have caused the trial to collapse due to the risk of influencing the jury. Instead a media black-out was imposed on Mr Farage's comments, while Judge Flewitt referred him to the Attorney-General, although ultimately no action was taken.
Previous Allegations Against Officers
The defence also unsuccessfully tried to cast aspersions on two of the officers who found themselves on the receiving end of a string of vicious blows. That was despite neither PC Marsden - who was punched six times by Amaad – nor PC Ward – shown in graphic detail sobbing in horror after a raging Amaaz broke her nose – previously facing disciplinary action. Judge Flewitt ruled that the jury should not be told about previous allegations of improper force stemming from arrests involving the PCs, pointing out that the complaints were rejected at the time. While the retrial ran smoothly by comparison, none of the incidents which threatened to derail proceedings in 2025 could be reported while there was the prospect of a third trial.
