Two jailed for 'heinous' killing of inmate

Ashirie Smith (left) was sentenced for murder while Thierry Robinson (right) was jailed for manslaughter

Two men have been jailed for killing a fellow inmate at a prison in Leicestershire.

Mahir Abdulrahman, also known as Mahir Mohamed, was found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Fosse Way in Glen Parva on 20 August 2024 and pronounced dead at the scene.

Ashirie Smith, 19, was jailed for a minimum term of 17 years and six months at Leicester Crown Court after being found guilty of Abdulrahman's murder.

Thierry Robinson, 21, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

A third defendant, Shaan Karim, 38, was cleared of all charges.

Det Insp Mark Parish from East Midlands Special Operations Unit said the injuries suffered by Abdulrahman showed a "serious, sustained attack" had taken place.

A post-mortem examination found Abdulraham had suffered injuries including swelling to his right cheek and on the left side of his neck as well as deep bruising to his brain and facial tissue.

Michael Burrows KC, prosecuting, previously said Mr Karim "kept watch" outside the cell, while Robinson and Smith were inside attacking Abdulrahman, stamping on and kicking his head and neck, causing a fatal bleed on the brain.

During the trial, Mr Burrows said Robinson and Smith accepted they entered Abdulrahman's cell, but claimed they only wanted to speak to him about an incident the day before, in which he had thrown water from a kettle on them.

'It is a tragedy'

The court was previously told Mr Karim said in a phone conversation with his mother that Robinson and Smith had "gone in on" Abdulrahman, and that he "could have done something" to stop them but did not.

He told her Abdulrahman's 35-week prison sentence for a sexual offence had led to other inmates "terrorising him for days", the court heard.

Mr Burrows said Abdulrahman had asked a prison officer the day before he died if he could move cells because he did not feel safe.

In the half an hour after the attack, Mr Burrows said, all three defendants returned at different points to look into Abdulrahman's cell and on two occasions, other inmates threw water at him to see if it would "jolt him back to life".

Wyn Jones, Serco prison director, said: "Any death in prison is a tragedy but the murder of Mr Abdulrahman was a heinous act. My thoughts remain with his family and those affected by his untimely death."