'I forgive my dad's racist killer'

Mohammed Saleem's daughter Maaz Saleem said she did not wish to hold on to hatred

The daughter of a man killed in a racist attack has said she forgives his murderer who died in prison this week.

Pavlo Lapshyn murdered Mohammed Saleem as he was on his way home from a mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham, in April 2013.

Forgiving her father's attacker, Maaz Saleem released a statement on social media that said "holding on to hatred serves no one".

She wrote of the killer: "He was someone's son, with elderly parents in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time."

The 37-year-old, who died on Tuesday at HMP Wakefield in Yorkshire, stabbed Mr Saleem, from Birmingham, less than a week after arriving in the UK.

The postgraduate student later pleaded guilty to murder and also admitted plotting to cause blasts near mosques in Walsall, Tipton and Wolverhampton.

Posting the statement to her LinkedIn page, Ms Saleem said she was informed of his death via the family's victim liaison officer, adding she was unaware of the circumstances.

She wrote: "As a matter of respect — to my father's memory, to justice, and to humanity — I wish to express that I have chosen, after many years, to forgive Lapshyn.

"This is not to condone what he did — his actions were gravely wrong, and he caused immense pain.

"But I believe holding on to hatred serves no one. We must resist division, especially at times like this, and uphold our common humanity."

Lapshyn, a self-confessed racist, was jailed for a minimum of 40 years, the judge telling him his "extremist, right-wing, white supremacist" views held "no place whatsoever in our multi-faith and multi-cultural society".

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate his death, as is routine with deaths in custody.

Ms Saleem's statement continued: "I miss my father every day, not least because I am unwell — illness sharpens absence.

"What Pavlo Lapshyn stood for — hatred, extremism, and racism — is the opposite of everything our community believes in, and we must continue to stand for forgiveness, justice, and peace.

"May they both rest in peace."