What caused the Manchester Airport brawl? Footage shows how violence erupted

Footage of the incident at Manchester Airport has been released to the media during the trial

Just over a year ago, footage showing a police officer kicking a man in the head during an arrest at Manchester Airport sparked controversy and protests.

It was a short clip, but it led to demands for answers from the public after showing PC Zachary Marsden kicking Mohammed Fahir Amaaz while he was lying on the ground.

Months later, it was Amaaz, 20, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, who faced criminal charges for allegedly assaulting police officers, following the examination of further footage.

For the last three weeks, the brothers have been standing trial at Liverpool Crown Court where various clips were shown to the jury to help piece together what happened on 23 July 2024 - resulting in Amaaz's conviction.

The brothers had travelled to Terminal Two with their young nephew to collect their mother, who was arriving on a flight from Qatar.

It was at this time that their mother claimed she had been racially abused by a passenger, who was later identified as Abdulkareem Ismaeil.

She pointed out Mr Ismaeil, who was in Starbucks with his family, to her sons as they were walking through the terminal at about 20:20 BST.

Amaaz confronted Mr Ismaeil before headbutting him and throwing punches as his family tried to intervene.

The attack was captured on CCTV inside the terminal.

Police were called to this altercation at Starbucks and, when they arrived at the airport, they found Amaaz at the terminal's car park payment area and attempted to arrest him.

The footage shown to the jury at Liverpool Crown Court showed Amaaz and his family leaving Starbucks and making their way out of the airport before further violence took place.

Officers present at the payment area were PC Marsden and PC Ellie Cook, who were armed, and their unarmed colleague PC Lydia Ward.

In the prosecution opening speech, Paul Greaney KC said the officers attempted to move Amaaz away from a payment machine in order to arrest him.

Amaaz allegedly resisted and Amaad is then said to have intervened.

Amaaz floored PC Ward with a punch to the face which broke her nose and also knocked PC Cook to the ground.

It was while Amaaz was lying on the ground that PC Marsden was captured on camera kicking Amaaz and stamping near him.

During the trial, PC Marsden told the jury his behaviour on the day of the incident was "professional".

Footage from a body-worn video camera was played to the jury which showed a bloodied and crying PC Ward being comforted by a colleague in the aftermath of the incident.

PC Ward told the trial she was "absolutely terrified" after receiving a "really forceful" blow to her face.

Amaaz was convicted of the assault of PC Ward causing actual bodily harm and the assault of emergency worker PC Ellie Cook.

He was also found guilty of the earlier assault of Mr Ismaeil.

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court was unable to reach verdicts on allegations that the brothers assaulted PC Marsden causing actual bodily harm after 10 hours of deliberating.

Amaaz and Amaad, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, had claimed they were acting in self-defence or in defence of each other.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) previously said it had concluded in December 2024 that no charges should be brought against any officers.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it was still investigating and, if new evidence emerges, there could be a referral to the CPS.

After 10 hours of deliberating, the jury was unable to reach verdicts on allegations that Amaaz and his brother assaulted PC Zachary Marsden causing actual bodily harm.

Prosecutors are now seeking a retrial on those counts.