Three Black Country brothers found guilty of murdering their uncle outside mosque

Adam Razaaq, 21, and brother Hasnian, 24, and Hasham, 23, from Long Lane, Halesowen, stabbed to death Haji Choudhary Rab Nawaz outside a Coventry mosque last October.

Razaaq, 21 of Long Lane, Halesowen, Faisal Mohammed, 30, of South Road, Handsworth, Hasnian Razaaq, 24 of Long Lane, Halesowen, Hasham Razaaq, 23, were found guilty of murder and attempted murder at Warwick Crown Court along with Faisal Mohammed, 30, of South Road, Handsworth and Jenaid Mahmood, 19, of Markby Road, Winson Green.

All five were related to Mr Nawaz and his brother who was also set upon during the brutal attack, parts of which were captured on CCTV and phone footage which was shown at the trial.

Mr Nawaz and his brother attended the Coventry mosque to pay their respects following the death of a family friend. As they left the premises, the five defendants who wielded knives and an extendable baton followed the men and subjected them to a savage and unprovoked attack, this had been part of an escalating tit-for-tat spiral of violence over the previous days.

Mohammed stabbed Mr Nawaz and Adam Razaaq knifed his brother, however, police argued all five were jointly involved in the violence which tragically culminated in the death, and the jury agreed.

Lorraine Anson, senior crown prosecutor for CPS West Midlands, said: “This was an appalling case of violence against family members targeted at a place of worship.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr Nawaz and we hope that the verdicts delivered today provide some level of closure for his brother and his family.

"This verdict reinforces our message that offenders of serious knife crime will be brought to justice.”

Detective Inspector Nick Barnes, from our homicide unit, said: "This was excessive violence which tragically led to the death of a much-loved father.

"These five men acted together and it seems to have stemmed from an ongoing feud between two families.

"It is yet another example of the awful consequences of carrying knives in public places."

He added: "I am grateful to the jury who spent several weeks paying close attention to the evidence, and were clearly unconvinced by the web of lies from those defendants who decided to give evidence.

"Although nothing can sadly ever bring Mr Nawaz back, we hope these convictions will bring some sense of justice for those who knew him."

Faisal Mohammed is a convicted crack cocaine and heroin drug dealer who was previously jailed for two and a half years for supplying drugs and dangerous driving during an incident in 2018 when he injured two policemen.

The defendants will be sentenced tomorrow.