UPDATED WITH SENTENCE: Five jailed for murder of man at Coventry mosque

Five people have been jailed for more than 125 years in total after they were convicted of the murder of a man who was fatally stabbed as he left a Coventry mosque in October last year.

Adam Razaaq, 21, of Long Lane, Halesowen, and Jenaid Mahmood, 19, of Markby Road, Birmingham, were today sentenced to life imprisonment at Warwick Crown Court for the murder of Haji Choudhary Rab Nawaz and the attempted murder of his brother.

Faisal Mohammed, 30, of South Road, Birmingham, was sentenced to a minimum term of 27 years, Hasnian Razaaq, 24 of Long Lane, Halesowen, was sentenced to a minimum term of 26 years, and Hasham Razaaq, 23, of Long Lane, Halesowen for a minimum term of 25 years.

The five defendants were previously convicted on 19 July 2023 at Warwick Crown Court, having denied participation in the assaults. They were unanimously convicted by the jury following the trial.

On 2 October 2022, Mr Nawaz and his brother attended the Coventry mosque to pay their respects following the death of a family friend. As they left the premises, the five defendants, who wielded knives and an extendable baton, followed the men and subjected them to a savage and unprovoked attack.

Both men were stabbed, and despite his injuries, the second man was able to drive away to the mosque entrance where the brothers retreated for safety. Their ordeal continued as the defendants used their weapons to attack their vehicle while continuing to threaten them.

Three of the defendants were Mr Nawaz’s nephews while the remaining two were related to him through marriage.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services sadly Mr Nawaz died shortly afterwards in hospital while the second man sustained injuries that were not life-threatening.

Lorraine Anson, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS West Midlands, said: “This was an appalling case of violence against family members targeted at a place of worship.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr Nawaz and we hope that the verdicts delivered today provide some level of closure for his brother and his family. This verdict reinforces our message that offenders of serious knife crime will be brought to justice.”