Hazrat Wali: Teenager jailed for killing Afghan refugee

Hazrat Wali was a refugee from Afghanistan

A teenager who fatally stabbed an 18-year-old Afghan refugee in a south-west London park has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The 17-year-old youth admitted wielding a knife within hours of leaving a magistrates' court.

He denied he intended to cause student and aspiring cricketer Mr Wali really serious harm.

A jury at the Old Bailey found him not guilty of murder but guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Hazrat Wali was attacked in Craneford Way Playing Fields, Twickenham, on 12 October 2021.

He died in hospital after suffering a 10cm (4in) deep wound.

Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC sentenced him to 10 years detention at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Mr Wali died at the scene in Craneford Way Playing Fields

She told the youth: "When you stabbed Hazrat he was unarmed and outnumbered by you and your friends."

She said he made a "deliberate decision to carry a fearsome weapon" that day, adding: "You told the jury that you took the knife to the magistrates' court. You left it in some bushes outside and collected it once the hearing concluded."

The court heard the defendant, who was enrolled on a college course, went on to attack a McDonald's server an hour after stabbing Mr Wali, for which he later pleaded guilty to affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Mr Wali's older brother, Mohamed Ashuk, told the court in a victim impact statement that his sibling came to London from Afghanistan "hoping for a safer life".

He added: "He was just settling into college and enjoying his new life in London and he wanted to study and become an engineer."

• Boy stabbed refugee after knife sentencing - court

• Afghan refugee killed in row over girl, court told

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]