A Moroccan asylum seeker who stabbed a 70-year-old pensioner to death in a horrific act of “revenge” for the Israel-Hamas conflict has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 45 years
According to Express, Ahmed Alid, 45, received the lengthy sentence at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday after being found guilty last month of the premeditated murder of Terence Carney and attempted murder of his housemate Javed Nouri in Hartlepool in October 2023.
The court heard how in the early hours of October 15th, just eight days after Hamas launched attacks on Israel, Alid first broke into Mr Nouri’s bedroom at their asylum accommodation and brutally assaulted the 31-year-old Christian convert with a knife while he slept, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great).
After the failed murder attempt on Mr Nouri, Alid then fled into the street still armed and encountered Mr Carney, an innocent bystander out for his regular morning walk in the town center.
Chilling doorbell footage captured the pensioner’s desperate cries of “No, no” as the stranger approached and stabbed him six times in what prosecutors described as a “deliberate” attack targeting his body.
In a holding cell after his arrest, Alid ranted in Arabic about his desire for Gaza to become an “Arab country” again and how he would have continued his “raid” if not injured, according to court reports.
He strongly disapproved of Mr Nouri’s conversion from Islam, claiming God was “displeased” with apostates.
Sentencing Alid, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb ruled he had committed terrorist offences motivated by the Israel-Palestine conflict, telling him: “You intended to intimidate and influence the British government.”
She condemned his “cowardly” assault on the “asleep and vulnerable” Mr Nouri which “shattered the life he had built” in the UK, before he targeted the “unarmed and elderly” Mr Carney who could not defend himself.
In a statement, Mr Carney’s wife Patricia said her husband simply enjoyed the peace of his early morning walks, adding: “A chance encounter with this man ended his life.” Though living apart, she said they were “still very much together.”
She can no longer go into town as it is “too painful” near where he died, stating: “From that day on, my life would be forever changed. I don’t feel anything anymore.”
Mr Nouri’s statement read he no longer trusts anyone after the terrifying attack in his supposed safe haven, questioning “How is it possible for someone to destroy someone’s life because of his religion?”
He has suffered mental health issues, lost friends after relocating, and told Alid: “You are a weak person, because of your religion you attack someone in deep sleep and an old man who struggled to walk.”
The court heard concerned housemates noticed Alid’s obsession with Hamas coverage and carrying a knife, leading Mr Nouri to complain to housing managers and police, though no action was taken.
In a police interview after the murder, Alid admitted the attacks, saying he wanted “revenge” as “Israel had killed innocent children.”
Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said Alid “swore by Allah that, if he had had a machine gun and more weapons, he would have killed more victims.”
Alid claimed Britain created the “Zionist entity” of Israel, adding: “They killed children and I killed an old man.”
The judge said while Alid had a “minor mental illness” affecting his judgement over pressures including his stalled asylum claim, this offered “very limited mitigation” for “such serious violence” and he showed “no remorse.”
Alid had denied the charges, claiming mistranslation, but the jury “saw through his lies,” the judge said.
Cleveland Police’s Deputy Chief Constable praised the swift response preventing more loss of life, while the head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East said the “unprovoked and disturbing” attacks were appropriately ruled terrorism once evidence was heard.
