Two men who attacked a former friend in the street with a wrench and a machete with ‘merciless ferocity’ have been convicted of his murder.
Mofizur Rahman, 21, and Alimul Islam, 22, killed Alimuz Zaman, 23, in front of a crowd outside a shop on St Paul’s Way in Mile End, east London, on May 26, 2019.
The attack came shortly after Mr Zaman was captured on CCTV buying birthday sweets for his young niece on that same afternoon.
Islam had armed himself with a 10-inch long stolen wrench and Rahman had a foot-long hunting-style blade, while Mr Zaman only had a pair of household scissors, jurors heard.
The two defendants began arguing with Mr Zaman in the street before their dispute turned violent, the Old Bailey heard.
Rahman and Islam, both of Tower Hamlets, east London, used their weapons with what the prosecution described as ‘merciless ferocity and devastating affect’.
Mofizur Rahman, 21, and Alimul Islam, 22, killed Alimuz Zaman (pictured), 23, shortly after he was captured on CCTV buying birthday sweets for his young niece on May 26, 2019
Mr Zaman’s unarmed friend, Mahbuby Rabani, tried to intervene and suffered a severe arm injury before the defendants fled.
Prior to the attack, CCTV captured Islam walking into the newsagents as staff shouted: ‘Alimul, don’t take anything.’
But Islam grabbed an adjustable wrench and walked back outside, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Zaman was seen on CCTV entering the same shop to pick up a pair of scissors to defend himself, before trying to enter the back room to avoid the confrontation.
But a crowd of bystanders watched as Mr Zaman was chased around the street as the pair struck him repeatedly with their weapons before pulling their hoods up and running away.
Jurors saw CCTV footage showing Rahman swinging a large knife at Mr Zaman as he ran down the road, before falling onto the pavement in front of a crowd.
At one point, Mr Zaman was heard saying: ‘Why are you hitting me? Isn’t that enough?’
Mr Zaman was able to tell his brother the names of his attackers as he lay fatally injured in the street. He died in hospital later the same day.
The two defendants began arguing with Mr Zaman in the street on St Paul’s Way (pictured) in Mile End, east London, before their dispute turned violent
A post-mortem examination identified 15 sharp force injuries, with two fatal wounds – a chop-like gash to the arm and deep stab to the thigh.
Rahman and Islam claimed that they had acted in self-defence. They claimed they had been working for the victim as dealers and had a falling out.
The defendants denied but, on Friday, a jury at the Old Bailey unanimously found the defendants guilty of murder and wounding with intent.
The pair also denied possession of an offensive weapon, but the jury were discharged from finding a verdict in respect of those counts.
Neither of the weapons carried by the defendants was recovered.
Islam and Rahman were seen arguing with the victim the night before and exchanged a series of phone calls with him in the weeks leading up to the killing, the court heard.
The prosecution alleged the violence stemmed from an argument with Mr Zaman, likely to involve drug dealing.
Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow, QC, told the court how the killing took place in ‘full view of members of the public.
He said: ‘Alimuz Zaman was fatally injured and collapsed in a pool of his own blood, and left another Mahbuby Kabani clutching his injured arm.
‘It is violence that results in these two young men facing allegations of murder.
‘Any effort by them to blame the deceased simply ignores the severe nature of the attack to which they subjected him.
‘They had been in contact with each other on a relatively frequent basis up to the incident.
‘Mobile phone footage taken by members of the public recorded the incident that afternoon.
On Friday, a jury at the Old Bailey (pictured) unanimously found the defendants guilty of murder and wounding with intent
‘What it captures established beyond any reasonable doubt that they were armed and intended to cause harm to anyone in their way.’
Mr Glasgow also said that the ‘two fatal wounds’ sustained by the victim resulted in ‘catastrophic blood loss’, saying ‘there was nothing that could be done to save him’.
He added: ‘The violence used against him [Mr Zaman] was gratuitous, unnecessary, and totally inexcusable.
‘They attacked the deceased who was helpless, defenceless, on his back in the middle of the road. When he tried to escape, they hit him over and over again.
‘Even when they were surrounded by lots of concerned friends and acquaintances, they still continued to attack the deceased.
‘He didn’t have a weapon in his hands, he didn’t try to land a single blow at all.
‘Any suggestion that the violence is justifiable, or that it might have some legal excuse is wrong.’
Mr Glasgow said it is not known why the attack started, but said the defendants were known to Mr Zaman and had been in contact with him in the months before the incident.
After the jury found the defendants guilty, Judge Anthony Leonard, QC, said: ‘I am not going to push on with sentencing this afternoon.
‘As you know the only sentence I can pass is one of life imprisonment. But I have to consider what the minimum term is.’
The judge excused the jury from serving again for ten years and thanked them for their ‘diligence’ as they left the courtroom.
Judge Leonard adjourned sentencing until Monday and remanded the pair into custody.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10528595/Men-attacked-ex-friend-street-wrench-machete-convicted-murder.html