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A individual has been jailed for life with a minimum period of 23 years for the killing of a teenage Syrian asylum seeker after the boy brushed past his companion in downtown Huddersfield.

Trial Learns Particulars of Deadly Confrontation

The court in Leeds was told how the defendant, twenty, stabbed the victim, sixteen, not long after the boy walked by his companion. He was found guilty of murder on Thursday.

Ahmad, who had fled conflict-ridden the city of Homs after being hurt in a blast, had been living in the West Yorkshire town for only a few weeks when he encountered his attacker, who had been for a jobcentre appointment that day and was intending to purchase beauty product with his girlfriend.

Details of the Attack

The trial was informed that the accused – who had consumed weed, a stimulant drug, diazepam, ketamine and a painkiller – took “some petty exception” to the teenager “without malice” passing by his girlfriend in the road.

Security camera video showed the defendant uttering words to Ahmad, and summoning him after a quick argument. As the youth came closer, Franco opened the blade on a flick knife he was carrying in his trousers and thrust it into the boy’s neck.

Verdict and Judgment

The accused refuted the murder charge, but was judged guilty by a trial jury who considered the evidence for about three hours. He admitted guilt to carrying a blade in a public area.

While delivering the judgment on last Friday, judge Howard Crowson said that upon observing the victim, Franco “singled him out and drew him to within your reach to attack before ending his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have spotted a blade in the victim's belt was “untrue”.

Crowson said of the teenager that “it is a testament to the medical personnel attempting to rescue him and his desire to survive he even reached the hospital with signs of life, but in fact his wounds were unsurvivable”.

Relatives Impact and Message

Reading out a declaration prepared by the victim's uncle his uncle, with input from his parents, the legal representative told the court that the teenager’s father had suffered a heart attack upon learning of the incident of his child's passing, necessitating medical intervention.

“It is hard to express the consequence of their terrible act and the influence it had over all involved,” the statement read. “The victim's mother still weeps over his garments as they remind her of him.”

Ghazwan, who said Ahmad was as close as a child and he felt guilty he could not protect him, went on to explain that Ahmad had thought he had found “the land of peace and the achievement of aspirations” in England, but instead was “brutally snatched by the unnecessary and sudden attack”.

“Being his relative, I will always feel responsible that he had arrived in Britain, and I could not keep him safe,” he said in a declaration after the judgment. “Dear Ahmad we love you, we long for you and we will do for ever.”

Background of the Victim

The trial was told Ahmad had made his way for 90 days to reach the UK from Syria, visiting a asylum seeker facility for teenagers in Swansea and attending college in the Welsh city before arriving in West Yorkshire. The teenager had hoped to work as a doctor, inspired partially by a hope to look after his mother, who had a persistent condition.