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A man has been given a life sentence with a lowest sentence of 23 years for the killing of a young Syrian refugee after the teenager brushed past his partner in downtown Huddersfield.

Court Hears Details of Deadly Altercation

The court in Leeds heard how the defendant, aged 20, stabbed the victim, 16, soon after the boy brushed past Franco’s girlfriend. He was convicted of the killing on last Thursday.

The victim, who had left war-torn the city of Homs after being injured in a blast, had been living in the local community for only a short period when he encountered his attacker, who had been for a employment office visit that day and was planning to get beauty product with his partner.

Details of the Attack

The trial was informed that the accused – who had used marijuana, a stimulant drug, a prescription medication, ketamine and a painkiller – took “some petty exception” to Ahmad “harmlessly” walking past his girlfriend in the public space.

CCTV footage revealed Franco uttering words to the victim, and summoning him after a short verbal altercation. As the boy approached, Franco opened the blade on a folding knife he was holding in his clothing and plunged it into the teenager's throat.

Trial Outcome and Sentencing

Franco pleaded not guilty to murder, but was judged guilty by a trial jury who took a little more than three hours to decide. He admitted guilt to carrying a blade in a public space.

While handing Franco his sentence on the fifth day of the week, judge Howard Crowson said that upon observing the victim, the man “singled him out and lured him to within your proximity to assault before taking his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have seen a weapon in the boy's clothing was “untrue”.

He said of Ahmad that “it is evidence to the healthcare workers attempting to rescue him and his will to live he even arrived at the hospital breathing, but in truth his injuries were fatal”.

Family Impact and Message

Reciting a declaration prepared by the victim's uncle the family member, with help from his family, the prosecutor told the court that the boy's dad had experienced cardiac arrest upon learning of the incident of his boy's killing, leading to an operation.

“It is hard to express the consequence of their heinous crime and the impact it had over all involved,” the testimony said. “The boy's mom still cries over his belongings as they carry his scent.”

The uncle, who said the boy was as close as a child and he felt ashamed he could not protect him, went on to explain that the teenager had thought he had found “the land of peace and the fulfilment of dreams” in Britain, but instead was “tragically removed by the senseless and unprovoked act”.

“In my role as his uncle, I will always feel responsible that he had arrived in Britain, and I could not ensure his safety,” he said in a statement after the sentencing. “Our beloved boy we care for you, we miss you and we will continue always.”

History of the Teenager

The proceedings heard the victim had travelled for a quarter of a year to get to England from Syria, stopping in a asylum seeker facility for teenagers in a city in Wales and studying in the Welsh city before moving to West Yorkshire. The young man had hoped to work as a physician, motivated partly by a hope to look after his mother, who was affected by a long-term health problem.