Mohammed Fahir Amaaz retrial jury discharged after nearly 20 hours

A retrial jury in the mohammed fahir amaaz case was discharged after nearly 20 hours of deliberations, after failing to reach verdicts on allegations that he and his brother assaulted a Greater Manchester police officer at Manchester Airport. The case has now been adjourned until 29 May, when the Crown Prosecution Service will decide whether to seek a third trial.

Terminal Two pay station

The alleged assault took place on 23 July 2024 in the car park pay station area of Terminal Two at Manchester Airport. Police had approached the brothers from Rochdale there after an incident at a coffee shop earlier, according to the court account set out during the retrial.

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz is 21, and Muhammad Amaad is 26. Both denied assaulting Greater Manchester PC Zachary Marsden. Amaaz told the court he had acted in lawful self-defence, or in defence of the other.

Jury directions

Jurors were directed that they could reach a majority verdict, but they were discharged after they still could not agree. That leaves the retrial unresolved and keeps open the possibility that prosecutors may return the case for another hearing.

For the defendants, that means the case does not end with the jury’s discharge. For Marsden, it means the allegations were not decided by this panel, and the next step now sits with the Crown Prosecution Service before the 29 May adjournment date.

Manchester Airport case

The retrial mattered because it was supposed to resolve the assault allegations after the brothers raised self-defence. Instead, the court reached the same practical endpoint that can follow a hung jury: no verdict, another decision ahead, and a longer wait for finality.

The immediate question is whether prosecutors will seek a third trial. If they do, the dispute will stay in court; if they do not, the retrial’s failure to produce verdicts will stand as the last word from this jury.