Two men charged over Manchester Airport incident in July

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Two men have been charged with assaults on police officers following an incident at Manchester Airport in July.

Mohammed Amaaz, 20, is charged with two offences of causing actual bodily harm, one charge of assaulting an emergency worker and one charge of common assault.

Muhammed Amaad, 25, is charged with causing actual bodily harm.

The men will appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on 16 January.

Footage of the incident was shared widely online in July and led to protests after it appeared to show a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer kicking and stomping on the head of a man as he lay on the floor.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said no police officers would be charged in relation to the incident.

Brothers Amaaz and Amaad and their 56-year-old mother, Shameem Akhtar, alleged they were assaulted by police during the altercation.

A female officer suffered a broken nose and two other officers were taken to hospital, GMP said.

Lawyers for the family said the men maintain their innocence and will contest the allegations.

Solicitor Aamer Anwar said the family were shocked by the news no officers will be charged. He said they will be requesting a victim’s right of review of the CPS decision.

“Our legal team will review the CPS decision, but believe they have fundamentally failed in the two-stage test which prosecutors must apply when deciding whether a case should result in proceedings before a court or not,” he said in a statement.

“The first stage is the ‘evidential stage’ and the second stage is the ‘public interest stage’.”

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “This was a high-profile incident that attracted significant public interest and media coverage at the time, and we have worked closely from the outset with investigators from the Independent Office for Police Conduct and Greater Manchester Police.”

He said the charges were brought after “careful consideration”.

“We acknowledge that in this case as in any other, the strength of feeling has been high,” Mr Ferguson added.

“Our specially trained prosecutors are often at the forefront of dealing with high-profile cases subject to intense public and media scrutiny and will always make independent and objective decisions based on all available evidence.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active and each of the defendants has the right to a fair trial.”

Greater Manchester Police’s Chief Constable Stephen Watson welcomed the CPS’s decision.

“Following this decision, I have lifted the suspension of the officer involved,” he said. “The IOPC’s [Independent Office for Police Conduct] misconduct investigation continues and we will continue to cooperate fully in this regard.

“Whilst cooperating fully with the IOPC in the discharge of their independent investigation into the conduct of our officers, GMP has offered support to our officers and will continue to do in the coming months.”

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