Riot Deaths: Eight Men Cleared Of Murder

Eight men are found not guilty of the murder of three friends during last summer's riots in Birmingham.

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Video: Eight Men Cleared Of Riots Murder

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The father of one of three men killed in last year's riots in Birmingham says he wants communities to live in peace.

Video: Victim's Father Appeals For Peace

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  • By David Crabtree, Midlands Correspondent

    Eight men have been cleared of murdering three friends who were mowed down by a car during last summer's riots.

    The Crown had alleged that Haroon Jahan, 21, Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, were protecting local businesses when they were murdered in the modern-day equivalent of a "chariot charge" involving three cars in the Winson Green area of Birmingham.

    But Ryan Goodwin, 21, Shaun Flynn, 26, Juan Ruiz-Gaviria, 31, Joshua Donald, 27, Everton Graham, 30, Adam King, 24, Ian Beckford, 30, and Aaron Parkins, 18, were found not guilty of three counts of murder each by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court.

    They hugged and shook hands with each other as the verdicts were returned.

    The nine women and three men of the jury had been deliberating for just over four hours.

    After the verdicts, trial judge Mr Justice Flaux appealed for calm on the streets of Birmingham and urged the community to respect the jury's findings.

    "On any view this has been a terrible case - a tragic and pointless loss of three young lives," he said.

    "However, by their verdicts the jury have decided that this was not a deliberate killing, that there was no plan to kill these three young men.

    "The jury have decided that this was a terrible accident."

    The judge, who said the deaths occurred at a time of "unparalleled" civic disorder, added: "It is important that however strong feelings are within the community in Winson Green and adjacent areas, that calm is maintained and that these verdicts are respected.

    "Any other action would not be honouring those who died. In fact quite the reverse. What happened on the streets of Birmingham and other cities last August should never be repeated."

    The prosecution had alleged that all eight defendants were party to a plan to drive a vehicle at a crowd of people in Dudley Road in Winson Green in the early hours of August 10.

    It was claimed that a Ford Fiesta and an Audi had been used to lure pedestrians into the road, where they were hit by a Mazda.

    At the beginning of almost three months of evidence, CCTV footage of the incident was played to the jury. It showed the three men being flung into the air as they were struck by the car.

    But the defendants denied the existence of any plan to harm pedestrians, and the driver of the Mazda. Ian Beckford, denied deliberately driving into the victims.

    He told the court that he had known the men who died for 13 years and had wished them no harm.

    The jury also heard from Tariq Jahan, the father of Haroon, who told the court he had heard a thud before seeing the body of his son in the road.

    He said the atmosphere had been very tense and cars had been driving up and down the road throughout the night.

    In the wake of the deaths Mr Jahan took to the streets to call for calm.

    Police, politicians and members of the public gave him credit for helping to prevent further trouble, and he later received an award for his compassion and dignity in the aftermath of his son's death.

    Harry Ireland, the Chief Crown Proescutor for the West Midlands, said he respected the jury's decision after a "painstaking investigation" by the force.

    "I hope that the community of Winson Green and beyond can recover from this decision, as Mr Jahan has clearly demonstrated throughout the course of these proceedings, and forgive and move on."

    Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Cann echoed Mr Ireland and the judge's hopes for "reflection and reconciliation" in the community.