Hartlepool: Man who prowled streets before stabbing 'defenceless' grandfather 'for people of Gaza' jailed

A terrorist who stabbed a stranger to death in an attack motivated by the conflict in Gaza has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 44 years.

Ahmed Ali Alid, 45, an asylum seeker who claimed to be from Morocco, would have killed more people if he had not been cornered by armed police while seeking out more victims on 15 October, his two-week trial was told.

Alid was found guilty last month at Teesside Crown Court and the judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said he "did not have the courage to admit his guilt in court" and had no history of mental illness.

He had attempted to kill his housemate Javed Nouri, 31, a Christian convert, then prowled the streets of Hartlepool until he came across Terence Carney, 70, stabbing him six times in the chest, abdomen and back.

Sentencing him, the judge said: "You attacked and murdered Terence Carney in a terrorist act.

"You intended it as revenge for the actions of a foreign country, Israel, and to intimidate and influence the British government in its international relations.

"You hoped to frighten the people of Britain and to undermine the freedoms they enjoy."

"When you attempted to kill Javed Nouri it was also intended to punish him for converting to Christianity, which is not permitted by your Muslim faith, which brands him an apostate. For each of these offences, you are sentenced to life imprisonment."

Footage of his arrest shows armed police shouting for Alid to "get down on the ground". Red laser dots from police guns then cover his body as he appears to ignore their requests.

After he was detained, he told police his offences - a week after the Hamas attacks on Israel - were "for the people of Gaza", referencing Britain's links to Israel, and that he had wanted to kill more victims.

"I swear by Allah if I had a machine gun and I had more weapons that they would be in thousands," the judge said he said during his police interview.

Alid attacked two female officers

At the end of the interview, Alid attacked two female interviewing officers, grabbing one of them and wrestling her to the ground while yelling "Palestine" and "Allahu Akbar [god is great]", causing his solicitor to dial 999.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC told Teesside Crown Court he was seeking a whole life order for the killing on the grounds it was a murder "done for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause".

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described Alid as a "dangerous offender" and said the jury "saw through his lies" when he claimed an interpreter had made mistakes in their translation and that his motivations were not religious or political.

She did not impose a whole-life term, despite agreeing with the prosecution that his attacks were terror offences.

The court heard how the former pastry chef had travelled from Morocco to Spain in 2007 and had spent time in 13 different European countries - including Italy and Germany - before arriving in Middlesborough by ferry from the Netherlands in 2020.

The judge said Alid was not challenged by border force personnel upon his arrival.

He claimed asylum and spent the next three years living in a hotel in Hull and then state-funded accommodation in a terraced house in Hartlepool, waiting for his claim to be processed.

Selfie images showed him on a beach and in the city centres of Newcastle, Birmingham and London.

'He laughed at Hamas attack videos'

Alid's housemate, an Iranian asylum seeker, described how he found Alid laughing and watching videos on his phone following the 7 October attacks.

Mr Nouri alerted police on 13 October and said Alid would sit in the kitchen with a knife, even if he wasn't using it to cook with, and give him "bad looks" after realising he had converted to Christianity.

The police concluded it was the matter of those responsible for the house to manage, according to the judge.

Alid broke into bedroom with two kitchen knives

Two days later, when Mr Nouri was asleep, Alid broke into his bedroom at around 5am brandishing two kitchen knives and stabbing him in the chest.

He managed to kick Alid away and run for the door but was then attacked from behind and stabbed in the face, before grappling with Alid and getting him into a headlock.

Another housemate came to his assistance and they bundled Alid out of the room and sat with their backs against the door as he kicked at it, attempting to get back in.

During a 999 call, a man is heard shouting "Jesus Christ" while another person, believed to be Alid is heard saying "Allahu Akbar" multiple times.

'Random targeting of lone man in the street'

Alid then went onto the street and was captured on CCTV footage holding a knife with a 20cm blade in the air, walking along and continuing to say "Allahu Akbar".

He approached Mr Carney after a few minutes, who "enjoyed walking in the peace of early mornings" and was "strongly connected to his wife and daughter, who miss him dearly", the judge said.

CCTV footage showed Alid stabbing Mr Carney multiple times while his victim was "effectively defenceless" and crying out "no, no," the court was told. The judge said Alid showed Mr Carney "no mercy".

Alid was arrested within 20 minutes of the attack with the blade tucked into his waistband, she added.

She sentenced Alid to 44 years and 52 days for murder, taking into account the 213 days already spent on remand.

He was also to a minimum term of 19 years and 52 days for attempted murder, but this will run concurrently with the longer sentence.

There will also be no additional time served for the assault of the two interviewing police officers, she said.

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In a victim impact statement, Mr Nouri said he has had to move away from Hartlepool, losing connections with family and friends.

Having suffered "psychological injury", he said: "All my thoughts of here being a safe country have gone.

"I would expect to be executed for converting to Christianity in my home country. But I did not expect to be attacked in my sleep here."

Mr Carney's family described him as a "beloved husband, father and grandfather" and thanked Mr Nouri and the other housemates for giving evidence in the trial as "the voice of our loved one, when he was unable to speak out for himself".

They added in a statement: "We would not want anyone else to have to go through what we have had to go through over the last six months, and what we will continue to go through for the rest of our lives. For us, things will never be the same again. We can take some small comfort in knowing that justice has been served."