Fugitive guilty of murdering Moosakhan Nasiri in East Ham

A fugitive has been found guilty of stabbing an Afghan asylum seeker to death over a £10 debt nearly six years ago.

Moosakhan Nasiri, known as Moosa, was only 20 years old when he was set upon by a group of fellow Afghans in Plashet Park, East Ham, on October 15 2017.

He was punched and kicked by the attackers and fatally stabbed once in the chest by Javid Ahmadzai, jurors were told.

Ahmadzai, now 28, was found guilty of murder and violent disorder on August 1 following a trial at the Old Bailey.

The court had heard how Mr Naseri had come to the UK in 2005 to seek asylum because of the actions of the Taliban.

He lived in Bradford before moving to London to stay with an Afghan foster family who lived near the park where he died.

Although he was not entitled to work in the UK, he would find occasional employment as a labourer, the court heard.

Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC said that the brutal attack had arisen because the victim owed £10 for some drugs which he could not pay back immediately.

An argument broke out between him and three of the group before the defendant received a phone call summoning him to the park to join in.

After the killing, Ahmadzai fled to France where in September 2018 he was convicted of stabbing a man in the chest during a row over the behaviour and language of the group he was in.

On the day of his release from French custody last June 21, he was extradited back to the UK and arrested for murder.

Following his conviction on Tuesday, Ahmadzai was remanded into custody to be sentenced on August 10.