Jury discharged after nearly 20 hours in Manchester Airport Trial

Jurors in the manchester airport trial were discharged after nearly 20 hours of deliberating without reaching verdicts over allegations that two brothers assaulted a police officer at Manchester Airport. The case now returns to court on 29 May, when prosecutors are due to decide whether to seek a third trial.

Manchester Airport terminal two

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, denied assaulting Greater Manchester PC Zachary Marsden over the alleged incident at the car park pay station area of terminal two on 23 July 2024. Police had approached the brothers from Rochdale there after an earlier incident at a coffee shop.

Majority verdict direction

The jury had been told it could return a majority verdict, but that direction did not produce an agreement. After the panel was discharged, the retrial ended without verdicts on the charges against either brother.

Crown Prosecution Service decision

Amaad told the court that he and his brother had acted in lawful self-defence, or in defence of the other. The adjournment until 29 May gives the Crown Prosecution Service time to decide whether it will pursue a third trial, leaving the case unresolved after a second jury heard the evidence.