Migrant accused of murdering pensioner ‘for Palestine’ was ‘turned down’ for German asylum

An asylum seeker accused of randomly murdering a pensioner “for the sake of Palestine” was turned down for asylum in Germany, his housemate told investigators.

A court heard that Ahmed Ali Alid, 45, had been living in a shared home with three other asylum seekers in Hartlepool, County Durham, at the time of the attack.

Mr Alid tried to murder Javed Nouri as he slept because he regarded him as an “apostate” for converting from Islam to Christianity.

After attacking Mr Nouri he then ran into the streets in the early hours of Oct 15 last year, where he “chanced upon” 70-year-old Terence Carney who was taking a dawn walk.

The prosecution has said he was to tell police he stabbed the two men “in revenge for what he believed to be the killing of children by Israel”.

Mr Nouri, via a Farsi interpreter, told police he had moved into the Home Office-approved accommodation around three months before the attack.

He said he realised “this man was extreme in his religion” and was a strict Muslim.

Mr Nouri challenged Alid about why he came to the UK and not to a Muslim country if he did not like how people lived.

‘That’s why I came here’

Mr Nouri told police: “He would tell me his family is in Germany and they did not give me asylum there – ‘that’s why I came here’.

“(He said) ‘I am waiting to get a decision for my asylum and to bring them over here’.”

Mr Nouri said Alid challenged the housemates over beer that had been left in the fridge, saying it should not be in the house.

He told police: “I realised he was an extreme Muslim, in his religion alcohol consumption is not good.”

Mr Nouri said he saw Alid had started to routinely carry a knife and was scaring the other housemates.

He went to the housing bosses and told them of his concerns about Alid, particularly given that Mr Nouri had “changed his religion”.

Mr Nouri said he also contacted the Home Office with his worries about Alid.

He told detectives: “I told them that we are not safe here... He could attack us at any moment.”

Alid denies murdering Mr Carney, attempted murder and two counts of assaulting detectives after he was arrested.

The trial continues.