Killed by prowling gang of thugs over colour of his skin

THREE Asian men hunted down and murdered an innocent black IT worker during race riots for no other reason than the colour of his skin, a judge said yesterday.

Isaiah Young-Sam, 23, his brother and two friends were attacked while trying to evade violent clashes between black and Asian youths.

“The four men were set upon because they were Afro-Caribbean and for no other reason,” Mr Justice Mackay said. “They had done nothing to these defendants and done nothing to incur or justify hostility. What led to the death of Isaiah Young-Sam was the colour of his skin.”

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He and his friends were ambushed as they walked home through the streets of Lozells on October 22. They were trying to avoid disturbances that had broken out between black and Asian communities over a rumour — unsubstantiated but widely circulated — that a West Indian girl had been gang-raped by 19 Asian men.

The group decided to return home as running battles between different racial groups and the police worsened. The jury was told that they believed they had successfully avoided danger when they were spotted by a group of Asian men travelling in two or three cars. The attackers got out wearing hooded tops and bandannas to disguise their identities and approached the four terrified black men.

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During one whispered exchange, one was heard using the phrase “when we went after the black man”. Afzal Khan was recorded saying: “We should have been just in the riots, throwing bricks and shit.” The three travelled to Huddersfield just hours after the attack, before returning to Birmingham the next day and booking one-way tickets to Pakistan. They flew from Heathrow on October 25 but were stopped in Dubai and returned to Britain, where they were arrested.

The three were also each jailed for ten years after being found guilty of a separate charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Mr Byfield.