Teenager kicked in face by Manchester police is ‘traumatised’, solicitor says

A teenager who was kicked in the face by an armed police officer while lying prone on the ground is “traumatised” and receiving hospital treatment after the “barbaric” assault, his solicitor has said.

Akhmed Yakoob said 19-year-old Muhammed Fahir was a victim of “police brutality” after footage showed an officer stamping on his head during an arrest at Manchester airport on Tuesday.

The video prompted widespread outrage and triggered an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The officer concerned has been suspended from all duties, Greater Manchester police said.

Speaking outside Rochdale police station on Thursday, Yakoob said Fahir and his family were “traumatised” and “scared of the police, scared to come outside the house”.

He claimed Fahir was “fighting for his life” and that his health had “worsened since last night”.

Yakoob, who is under investigation by the solicitors’ regulatory body over controversial remarks on social media, said the teenager was being treated at the Royal Oldham hospital.

He added: “A CT scan has revealed there is a cyst on his brain so please pray for his wellbeing. Right now the main concern for us, for me, is that the family receive justice and this no longer happens again.”

The Guardian has been unable to independently verify the claims about Fahir’s condition. The IOPC and GMP have been contacted for comment.

Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, tried to calm tensions over the footage on Thursday after a former senior Metropolitan police officer, Dal Babu, said racism played a “significant part” in the incident.

Burnham said he had seen footage of the incident leading up to the arrest which had not been released publicly.

The mayor made clear he was not excusing the officer’s actions but said it was “not a clearcut situation” and there were “issues on both sides” after an incident on a flight landing at the airport, which Fahir’s mother, 56, is understood to have been on.

Burnham said: “So there had been already a serious incident before that. What people don’t see in the clip is that there is a situation which escalates and escalates very quickly.”

He said there were issues “on both sides” but reiterated that the footage in the public domain was “disturbing” and said it was right to refer the situation to the IOPC to investigate.

The IOPC said on Thursday night that it understood the “widespread shock and concern” and had set up a dedicated reporting line for any potential witnesses to contact investigators.

The GMP referred itself to the IOPC over a second incident involving the same officer’s use of Pava spray on a second man.

Yakoob said Fahir’s family had given him their account of the incident on the flight but said it was “not relevant” to the officer’s actions.

He added: “I don’t know what happened before but one thing I can say loud and clear: nothing justifies the barbaric treatment from the police officers because as you can see by the videos … there was no threat whatsoever to the police or the public.”

Yakoob said Fahir’s older brother was a serving GMP officer and said he was now “too afraid to go to work”.

“He went in today and spoke to his supervisor and the only reason he is not going to work is fearing for his own safety and he thinks [that], like his family members were victims, he will be a victim.”

He added: “The family are OK but they are traumatised.”

Asked whether he believed the alleged brain injury was linked to the incident, he said: “That is something a medical professional would have to answer but as far as I know I’ve spoken to the consultant and they’re saying it could be related to the injuries at the airport.”

Yakoob said Fahir’s brother and mother were also assaulted by the police. He alleged the mother was kicked in the face, and said he would document her injuries with her permission.

About 200 people protested outside Rochdale police station on Wednesday, reportedly shouting “GMP shame on you”.

On Thursday evening, a few hundred protesters gathered outside Burnham’s office as part of a Stand Up To Racism demonstration, chanting slogans such as “No justice, no peace, no racist police”.

They then marched through the city before various speeches took place. Social media footage appeared to show demonstrators blocking tram lines and roads.

Manchester’s Bee Network said on social media: “Due to a protest in the city centre, tram services are operating to an amended service pattern.”

Yakoob, a director at Maurice Andrews Solicitors, in Birmingham, came under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority this year after he used social media to promote a false claim of racism against a young teacher.

He stood as an independent candidate in Birmingham Ladywood in the general election after coming third in the campaign for West Midlands mayor in May. He apologised in June after being criticised for saying on a podcast that “70% of hell is going to be women”, and for failing to condemn a guest saying he would give his wife a “backhander” if she made money dancing on TikTok.

The Rochdale MP, Paul Waugh, described the airport footage as “truly shocking and disturbing”.

Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said she welcomed the IOPC’s investigation and added: “I share the deep concern surrounding the video and understand the widespread distress it will have caused.”