Man jailed after recording brother’s murder trial on phone

A man has been jailed after he was caught recording his brother’s murder trial from the public gallery on his mobile phone. Rijaan Mohamed of Fairy Lane was jailed for seven months for contempt of court.

A two-week trial is coming up at Manchester Crown Square for the murder of Badri Issa. Two Cheetham Hill men have been found guilty of the manslaughter and manslaughter of Mr Issa, 22, who was stabbed to death on Moss Lane East on October 25, 2023.

People were seen “throwing punches” and “throwing bottles” in the street outside the court after proceedings ended on Thursday night (May 9). The Manchester Evening News understands the violent row was linked to Mr Issa’s murder trial.

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Police have now revealed that during the trial, Mr Mohamed, the brother of one of the defendants, was found recording proceedings. On April 26, Mr. Mohamed dropped his phone from the public gallery of the balcony in the courtroom.

The phone was recovered when proceedings were stopped for a brief adjournment and was found to have been recording for over an hour and a half.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Naismith, who is GMP’s senior investigating officer for Badri Issa’s murder, said: “This has been an extremely difficult process for Badri Issa’s family, made more difficult by the behavior of certain individuals. Badri Issa lost his life in the cruelest of circumstances trying to defuse a situation and my thoughts will always be with his loved ones who have been through so much.

“Raajan Mohammed’s actions are unacceptable and I welcome this sentence today. I hope it demonstrates how seriously we take the behavior of the defendant’s families inside and outside the courtroom.”

Raami Mohamed, 21, of Fairy Lane in Cheetham Hill was found guilty of murder by jurors at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday (May 9). A second man, Kevell Blake, 20, of Bromshill Drive, Cheetham Hill, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

Both men will be sentenced next month.