Five men have been convicted of murder after a father was fatally stabbed following a janazah in a Coventry mosque as a feud between families erupted into violence.
Haji Choudhary Rab Nawaz, 52, had attended a janazah at Al Madinah Central Mosque & Institute in Coventry – along with his brother – on October 2 last year.
Following a seven week trial at Warwick Crown Court, Adam Razaaq, 21, Hasnian Razaaq, 24, Hasham Razaaq, 23, of Halesowen were all convicted of murder, as was Jenaid Mahmood, 19 and Faisal Mohammed, 30, from Birmingham.
They were also convicted of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon and will be sentenced at a later date.
Evidence presented at court confirmed that although Mohammed stabbed Mr Nawaz and Adam Razaaq the other man, all five were jointly involved in the violence which tragically culminated in the death.
After the janazah at the mosque Mr Nawaz and his brother were followed to their nearby parked car by the group – who were armed with weapons – and they were both stabbed.
An attempt was made to drive off but the pair only managed a short distance before seeking help back inside the mosque.
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Mr Nawaz sustained serious chest injuries and sadly died a short time after arriving at hospital. His brother fortunately suffered injuries which were not life-threatening.
The murderers smashed up Mr Nawaz’s car following the stabbings and police later established there was ongoing animosity between two closely-linked families.
After the incident all five quickly fled to different parts of the country but police were able to quickly identify them as suspects and all were arrested within nine days of the killing.
Officers used extensive CCTV, mobile phone records and forensics to link them to the tragic murder.
Detective Inspector Nick Barnes, from West Midlands Police, 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.
“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.”
