A man accused of murder has told jurors he was ‘scared and shaking’ as two groups fought leading to the death of a man in the city centre. Hussein Mouhelhel, 22, told jurors he heard his co-accused, Mohammed Al-Enizi Hammed, shout ‘kill them’ before seeing people running to the canal near to Dale Street in the Northern Quarter.
He claimed that he stood nearby and ‘did nothing’ during the fracas, in which two men were stabbed.
Ahmed Alsharan, 33, was stabbed in the heart and pushed into the canal near Dale Street in the city centre - where he was said to have been drinking coffee - in August last year. He climbed out of the canal before going back to Dale Street where he collapsed, it was said.
He received open heart surgery at the scene but died later, a jury has been told. His friend Sami Alhaj was also stabbed but survived, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
On Tuesday Mr Mouhelhel, one of six accused, was questioned by prosecutor Sharon Beattie KC about his alleged role in the incident as the trial continued.
“You are described by witnesses as having a look on your face like you were looking for trouble. What do you say about that?” Ms Beattie asked him.
Giving evidence through an interpreter, Mr Mouhelhel said: “No, I look like someone who was scared and not knowing what to do.”
It was suggested to him by the prosecutor that Mr Al-Enizi Hameed was ‘looking for trouble’ and Mr Mouhelhel was following him because they were friends.
“That’s not true, he is not my friend. He comes to my shop to [get his hair cut]. When I see him on the street I say hi,” he responded.
He further denied following behind Mr Al-Enizi Hameed, instead telling jurors he went to the canal, he saw his co-accused who asked if he wanted to chat and have a cigarette. Mr Mouhelhel further emphasised that he was ‘scared’ at the time, and ‘didn’t want anything to do with it’.
“If you were scared and didn’t want to be involved, why did you not leave?” the prosecutor asked.
“Because if I left it may have looked like I had something to do with it,” Mr Mouhelhel said. He denied supporting Mr Ali-Enizi Hameed, and reiterated he had ‘nothing to do with this’.
“You heard Mr Al-Enizi Hameed shout ‘kill them’?” Ms Beattie questioned. “Yes,” he replied.
Mr Mouhelhel was also asked about bodycam footage taken as he was spoken to at the scene by a police officer after the incident.
“If you see the video, you see I’m a scared person who was shaking,” he told jurors.
He explained that his English was ‘not very good’ and he had difficulty expressing himself to officers at the time.
In the video, he could be heard saying: “I’m a barber here mate… I don’t have anything… I just finish my job here…ask him, I don’t know him, ask him.” He explained that he was referring to the group on the other side of the canal, namely Mr Alsharan and Mr Alhaj.
“You didn’t see how scared and shaken I was, I could not speak properly. I had nothing to do with it, all the people were involved in the problem,” he said.
“I did not support him, I was just passing by and it started in front of me.”
Mohammed Al-Enizi Hameed, 36, of Brighton Grove, Rusholme; Fares Hassan, 22, of Ribston Street, Hulme; Hussein Muhalhal, 20, of Lower Park Road, Longsight; and Mr Mouhelhel, of Wynnstay Grove, Fallowfield; and the two 16-year-old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all deny murder, attempted murder and an alternate offence of wounding with intent.
