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A man has been sentenced to life with a lowest sentence of 23 years for the homicide of a teenage Syrian asylum seeker after the teenager brushed past his girlfriend in the center of Huddersfield.

Trial Hears Details of Deadly Altercation

The court in Leeds was told how the accused, twenty, knifed Ahmad Al Ibrahim, sixteen, shortly after the boy passed his companion. He was convicted of homicide on last Thursday.

The victim, who had fled conflict-ridden the city of Homs after being hurt in a explosion, had been staying in the Huddersfield area for only a few weeks when he crossed paths with Franco, who had been for a employment office visit that day and was intending to purchase eyelash glue with his female companion.

Particulars of the Attack

The trial learned that the accused – who had taken marijuana, a stimulant drug, diazepam, ketamine and a painkiller – took “a minor offense” to the teenager “harmlessly” going past his girlfriend in the road.

Security camera video showed the defendant saying something to Ahmad, and gesturing him closer after a quick argument. As Ahmad walked over, Franco deployed the weapon on a switchblade he was concealing in his pants and thrust it into the boy’s neck.

Verdict and Sentencing

Franco pleaded not guilty to murder, but was convicted by a trial jury who deliberated for just over three hours. He pleaded guilty to carrying a blade in a public space.

While sentencing the defendant on Friday, the court judge said that upon seeing Ahmad, the man “identified him as a target and enticed him to within your reach to attack before ending his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have spotted a blade in the victim's belt was “a lie”.

He said of Ahmad that “it stands as proof to the doctors and nurses attempting to rescue him and his will to live he even made it to the hospital alive, but in truth his wounds were lethal”.

Family Reaction and Statement

Presenting a statement prepared by his relative his uncle, with input from his parents, the legal representative told the judges that the boy's dad had had a heart episode upon hearing the news of his child's passing, leading to an operation.

“It is hard to express the impact of their awful offense and the influence it had over the whole family,” the message stated. “His mother still weeps over his clothes as they smell of him.”

The uncle, who said Ahmad was dear to him and he felt guilty he could not keep him safe, went on to explain that the victim had thought he had found “a peaceful country and the achievement of aspirations” in Britain, but instead was “cruelly taken away by the pointless and random violence”.

“In my role as his uncle, I will always feel responsible that the boy had traveled to England, and I could not keep him safe,” he said in a declaration after the sentencing. “Our beloved boy we love you, we miss you and we will do for ever.”

Background of the Victim

The court heard Ahmad had journeyed for three months to arrive in Britain from the Middle East, visiting a asylum seeker facility for youths in a city in Wales and attending college in the local college before arriving in Huddersfield. The boy had aspired to be a medical professional, motivated partly by a desire to support his parent, who suffered from a persistent condition.