Yousef Makki’s family launch appeal against ‘unduly lenient’ sentences for teenagers who were involved in his death because terms ‘do not send the right message to society’
- Manchester Grammar schoolboy was knifed to death on March 2 this year
- Boy A – who inflicted the wound – is now serving a 16-month detention order
- Co-accused, Boy B, who imported the knife from China, is serving four months
- Case will be considered by Geoffrey Cox who can refer it to the Court of Appeal
Yousef Makki’s family are appealing the sentences for the two teenagers involved in his death because they ‘do not send the right message to society’.
The 17-year-old Manchester Grammar scholarship student bled to death after being knifed in the heart in the leafy village of Hale Barns, Greater Manchester on March 2 this year.
The teenager, 17, who inflicted the fatal stab wound – ‘Boy A’ – was cleared of murder and manslaughter, and is currently serving a 16-month detention and training order for possessing a knife and lying to police.
Yousef Makki (left) bled to death after being knifed in the heart in the leafy village of Hale Barns, Greater Manchester on March 2 this year. Pictured on the right is his mother, Debbie, at a protest on July 24
The teenager’s co-accused – ‘Boy B’ – also 17, who imported the knife from China, is serving four months.
Yousef’s family has now said they will appeal the sentences as they believe they are ‘unduly lenient’.
Yousef’s sister, Jade Akoum, said an application had been submitted to the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox asking him to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal.
In a statement, Mrs Akoum said: ‘We believe these sentences do not send the right messages to society. Knife crime is at its highest at the moment and we need tougher sentencing.’
Yousef’s sister, Jade Akoum, said an application had been submitted to the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox asking him to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal
Mrs Akoum said the family has appointed its own lawyer.
Yousef, from Burnage, south Manchester, had ambitions to become a heart surgeon.
He was fatally stabbed following a row about a £45 cannabis deal that went wrong.
Following a four-week trial, Boy A was cleared of murder and manslaughter by a jury, which agreed the defendant acted in self-defence.
Boy B was cleared of perverting the course of justice.
The teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were acquitted of a charge of conspiracy to rob.
In a tribute, Yousef’s family said: ‘[He] was an incredibly bright and ambitious person, receiving all A grades in his GSCEs last year.
‘Yousef was a caring and loving brother, son and uncle, someone my own children see as the perfect role model.
‘He was a loyal and loving friend would go above and beyond to support his friends in difficult times and had a kind and humble nature.’
Yousef’s mother, Debbie, recently said one of the youths on trial for killing her son ‘moonwalked’ past his family and smirked at them during the trial.
Yousef’s sister, Jade, brother, Mazen, and father, Ghaleb, at a protest outside Manchester Crown Court
An application had been submitted to the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox (pictured on July 29) asking him to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal
Mrs Makki described seeing the boys on the same corridor at Manchester Crown Court.
‘One of them used to moonwalk past us and laugh, the other one just used to smirk at us,’ she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
The grieving mother also criticised her family’s treatment during the trial, claiming they were ‘shoved upstairs’ into a public gallery where it was hard to hear what was going on.
Mrs Makki said the court was shown a video of Yousef dead on the floor without any prior warning, and that the image ‘would stick in my daughter’s head forever’.
She said: ‘The whole case for four weeks was aimed at the fact that these boys were good boys from a good area, as if they were innocent babies, as if they couldn’t possibly do anything bad because they weren’t from a council estate.’
Floral tributes and photographs in Hale Barns where Yousef was stabbed to death on March 8
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