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A person has been given a life sentence with a minimum period of 23 years for the killing of a teenage Syrian asylum seeker after the victim brushed past his companion in the center of Huddersfield.

Trial Hears Details of Deadly Confrontation

The court in Leeds learned how the defendant, aged 20, knifed the victim, aged 16, not long after the young man passed the defendant's partner. He was found guilty of homicide on last Thursday.

The victim, who had fled conflict-ridden the city of Homs after being injured in a explosion, had been living in the local community for only a couple of weeks when he encountered Franco, who had been for a meeting at the job center that day and was going to buy beauty product with his female companion.

Details of the Incident

The court heard that the accused – who had used marijuana, a stimulant drug, a prescription medication, ketamine and codeine – took “a trivial issue” to the boy “without malice” passing by his companion in the public space.

Surveillance tape displayed the defendant saying something to the victim, and calling him over after a brief exchange. As Ahmad walked over, Franco deployed the weapon on a folding knife he was carrying in his trousers and thrust it into the victim's neck.

Verdict and Judgment

The defendant refuted the murder charge, but was found guilty by a jury who took a little more than three hours to decide. He pleaded guilty to having a knife in a public area.

While sentencing the defendant on the fifth day of the week, the court judge said that upon seeing Ahmad, the man “singled him out and drew him to within your proximity to attack before taking his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have noticed a knife in the victim's belt was “false”.

Crowson said of the teenager that “it is evidence to the medical personnel working to keep him alive and his will to live he even arrived at the hospital breathing, but in truth his wounds were lethal”.

Family Reaction and Message

Reciting a statement prepared by the victim's uncle Ghazwan Al Ibrahim, with input from his parents, the legal representative told the court that the victim's parent had suffered a heart attack upon being informed of his child's passing, necessitating medical intervention.

“I am unable to describe the impact of their terrible act and the effect it had over all involved,” the message stated. “The victim's mother still cries over his belongings as they carry his scent.”

Ghazwan, who said the boy was like a son and he felt guilty he could not protect him, went on to declare that the teenager had thought he had found “a peaceful country and the achievement of aspirations” in Britain, but instead was “tragically removed by the senseless and unprovoked act”.

“Being his relative, I will always carry the guilt that he had arrived in Britain, and I could not ensure his safety,” he said in a message after the sentencing. “Our beloved boy we adore you, we long for you and we will feel this way eternally.”

History of the Teenager

The trial learned the teenager had travelled for 90 days to reach the UK from Syria, visiting a asylum seeker facility for young people in Swansea and going to school in the local college before relocating to Huddersfield. The boy had dreamed of becoming a medical professional, driven in part by a desire to care for his mom, who was affected by a long-term health problem.