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| Man who murdered Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah in sectarian attack jailed | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man from Bradford has been jailed for a minimum of 27 years for the “barbaric, premeditated” murder of Asad Shah, a shopkeeper in Glasgow. | A man from Bradford has been jailed for a minimum of 27 years for the “barbaric, premeditated” murder of Asad Shah, a shopkeeper in Glasgow. |
| Tanveer Ahmed, from Toller, Bradford, had admitted to repeatedly stabbing Shah to death outside his shop in the Shawlands area of the city in March this year in a sectarian attack motivated by hatred of Shah’s religious views. | Tanveer Ahmed, from Toller, Bradford, had admitted to repeatedly stabbing Shah to death outside his shop in the Shawlands area of the city in March this year in a sectarian attack motivated by hatred of Shah’s religious views. |
| Ahmed, a Sunni Muslim, confessed to confronting and then attacking Shah because the shopkeeper was an open adherent of the Ahmadi branch of Islam, which believes that the prophet Muhammad was not the final Muslim prophet. | |
| Passing sentence at the high court in Glasgow on Tuesday, Lady Rae said the killing was an “appalling display of merciless violence” and a “barbaric, premeditated and wholly unjustified killing of a much-loved man”. | |
| Describing the murder as “in effect an execution”, she told Ahmed: “Your determination to kill Mr Shah was obvious. What is so chilling is that what you did was calculated and deliberate. | |
| “You did not know the deceased but you decided that you had a duty to kill him.” | “You did not know the deceased but you decided that you had a duty to kill him.” |
| Shah’s death led to an outpouring of grief among his customers and neighbours, and exposed significant levels of animosity and discrimination faced by the UK’s Ahmadi minority from other Muslims. | Shah’s death led to an outpouring of grief among his customers and neighbours, and exposed significant levels of animosity and discrimination faced by the UK’s Ahmadi minority from other Muslims. |
| There were chants from Ahmed’s supporters in the public gallery as he was led from the dock, his hand raised. | There were chants from Ahmed’s supporters in the public gallery as he was led from the dock, his hand raised. |
| Friend of Tanveer Ahmed says shout in court was: "Mohammed is the prophet, he is the only one" | Friend of Tanveer Ahmed says shout in court was: "Mohammed is the prophet, he is the only one" |
| In an unusual statement released through his lawyer after a court appearance in early April, Ahmed insisted: “This all happened for one reason and no other issues and no other intentions. Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Mr Shah claimed to be a prophet.” | In an unusual statement released through his lawyer after a court appearance in early April, Ahmed insisted: “This all happened for one reason and no other issues and no other intentions. Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Mr Shah claimed to be a prophet.” |
| Scotland’s chief law officer, James Wolffe QC, the lord advocate, said it had been a “sustained, brutal attack”. | |
| “Asad Shah was a well liked and respected member of the community who was savagely murdered by a total stranger,” Wolffe added. “This was a brutal, unprovoked and relentless attack on an unsuspecting victim. It has left his family and friends devastated at the loss of a kind and peace loving man. | “Asad Shah was a well liked and respected member of the community who was savagely murdered by a total stranger,” Wolffe added. “This was a brutal, unprovoked and relentless attack on an unsuspecting victim. It has left his family and friends devastated at the loss of a kind and peace loving man. |
| “Tanveer Ahmed’s crime has rightly been condemned by communities across Glasgow and the rest of the country. Tanveer Ahmed has committed the gravest of crimes and he will now serve a very lengthy period in jail as a result of his actions.” | “Tanveer Ahmed’s crime has rightly been condemned by communities across Glasgow and the rest of the country. Tanveer Ahmed has committed the gravest of crimes and he will now serve a very lengthy period in jail as a result of his actions.” |
| The Shahs are said to be privately upset about what they perceive as the local Ahmadi leadership’s use of the murder to highlight the broader conflicts with orthodox Muslim thinking. One source said they felt his death had been turned into a “political football”. There is due to be an Ahmadi community press conference later in Glasgow. | The Shahs are said to be privately upset about what they perceive as the local Ahmadi leadership’s use of the murder to highlight the broader conflicts with orthodox Muslim thinking. One source said they felt his death had been turned into a “political football”. There is due to be an Ahmadi community press conference later in Glasgow. |
| In a statement issued on behalf of Shah’s family, their lawyer Aamer Anwar said many family members had either left or were preparing to leave Scotland, as a result of his murder and its impact on them. | In a statement issued on behalf of Shah’s family, their lawyer Aamer Anwar said many family members had either left or were preparing to leave Scotland, as a result of his murder and its impact on them. |
| Related: Shunned for saying they're Muslims: life for Ahmadis after Asad Shah's murder | |
| “Asad’s family have have lost a peaceful, kind and loving brother, son and uncle who can never be replaced. Most of his family have now left or are in the process of leaving Scotland, a country they came to seek safety in,” Anwar said. | “Asad’s family have have lost a peaceful, kind and loving brother, son and uncle who can never be replaced. Most of his family have now left or are in the process of leaving Scotland, a country they came to seek safety in,” Anwar said. |
| “They are grateful to the lord advocate, Crown Office and Police Scotland for their hard work and compassion. For those who choose to speak on behalf of Asad, his family say they have no permission to do so and request their privacy is respected.” | |
| Ch Supt Brian McInulty, a local commander for Police Scotland’s Greater Glasgow division, said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family of Asad Shah, whose presence in the community is very much missed by everyone who knew him. | |
| “I hope that the sentencing today will reassure the immediate community in Glasgow’s south-side as well as communities all across Scotland that acts of violence such as this are utterly unacceptable and cannot be justified.” | “I hope that the sentencing today will reassure the immediate community in Glasgow’s south-side as well as communities all across Scotland that acts of violence such as this are utterly unacceptable and cannot be justified.” |