On 23 July 2024, three police officers were injured at Manchester Airport and an armed officer was filmed kicking a man’s head while he lay on the ground. Two years and two trials later, the legal position is settled enough to set out plainly — and it is more complicated than either side of the argument online suggests.

One brother was convicted and imprisoned. The other was cleared of everything. No officer was charged. And a question about police discipline, separate from the criminal one, remains.

Last updated: 26 October 2026. Every date and outcome below checked against published records on this date.

The Full Timeline

Set out in order, because the narrative versions of this story tend to compress two years of proceedings into a single argument about a single clip.

What the Courts Actually Decided

This is the part most often got wrong, usually by treating the two brothers as one outcome. They are not.

The Officers, and the Two Separate Questions

The commonest confusion in coverage of this case is treating “not charged” as the end of the matter. There are two distinct processes.

The Separate CCTV Investigation

A detail missing from most accounts, including the earlier version of this page.

In August 2025 the IOPC opened a criminal investigation into an officer suspected of leaking CCTV footage of the incident. That is a different matter from the use of force, and from the misconduct question above — it concerns how material from the investigation reached the public.

It matters because so much of the public argument about this case was conducted through footage released outside the court process, by various parties, at moments that suited them.

Why the Video Decided the Public Argument

• The clip that circulated showed the end of an incident, not the start of it. That is true of most viral footage and is not a criticism of anyone who shared it.
• Three officers were injured, which was established and reported throughout — ITV News and LBC covered the assaults on officers alongside the footage of the kick.
• A man was kicked in the head while on the ground, which was also established and is on film.
• Both of those things are true at once. Most of the online argument consisted of people insisting that only one of them was.
• Two juries could not resolve the central allegation after hearing all of the evidence, over weeks, which is worth remembering before anyone concludes it was obvious from thirty seconds of phone video.

What the Case Actually Established

• One man was convicted of assaulting two officers and a member of the public, and is serving three and a half years.
• One man was cleared entirely, and should be described that way.
• No officer faced criminal charges.
• The allegation at the centre of the public argument was never decided by any court, after two trials.
• The disciplinary question was still open on the last published IOPC statement, and is a different test from the criminal one — it asks whether conduct fell below professional standards, not whether a crime was committed.
• A separate criminal investigation into alleged leaking of CCTV was opened in August 2025.

For other UK stories where the reported version and the legal outcome diverged, see our coverage of car finance mis-selling claims, the Peter Murrell case and a UK sect raid. Elsewhere on the site, the Shankland transfer story is a reminder of how quickly an early report can be overtaken.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened at Manchester Airport?

On 23 July 2024 a dispute among passengers of Qatar Airways flight QR023 led to police being called to Terminal 2 and the car park. Three officers were injured, and an armed officer was filmed kicking a man’s head while he lay on the ground.

Was anyone convicted?

Yes. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was convicted on 31 July 2025 of assaulting PC Lydia Ward, PC Ellie Cook and a member of the public, Abdulkareem Ismaeil. He was sentenced on 26 June 2026 to three and a half years’ imprisonment.

What happened to his brother?

Muhammad Amaad was cleared of all charges. The first jury could not reach a verdict, and the retrial jury was discharged on 20 May 2026 without reaching one either. He was convicted of nothing.

Was the officer who kicked the man charged?

No. On 20 December 2024 the Crown Prosecution Service decided to take no further action against police officers. The IOPC’s published statement records that decision but does not give a reason, so none is attributed here.

Is that the end of it for the officers?

Not necessarily, and this distinction matters. A decision not to bring criminal charges is separate from whether anyone faces disciplinary proceedings. The IOPC said in December 2024 that it had still to decide that question.

Was anyone suspended?

One officer was suspended and a second was investigated for assault, according to published accounts of the investigation.

What was the CCTV investigation about?

In August 2025 the IOPC opened a separate criminal investigation into an officer suspected of leaking CCTV footage of the incident. That is a distinct matter from the use of force.

Will there be a third trial?

The CPS said a further retrial would be “highly exceptional” after the second jury was discharged, and declined to attempt one on the same charges.

What started the dispute?

Published accounts describe a dispute among passengers of Qatar Airways flight QR023. The court heard that Amaaz headbutted and punched Abdulkareem Ismaeil, who had allegedly abused the brothers’ mother, Shameem Akhtar.

Why do some accounts say 30 July and others 31 July 2025?

Published summaries differ by a day on when the first trial’s verdicts were returned. We give 31 July 2025, which is the date in the body of the most detailed accounts, and note the discrepancy rather than hiding it.

Conclusion

The simplest accurate summary is also the least satisfying one to either side of the argument. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was convicted of assaulting two officers and a member of the public and is serving three and a half years. Muhammad Amaad was cleared of everything. No officer was charged. And the allegation that drove the entire national argument — the one concerning PC Marsden — was put to two juries and decided by neither.

The disciplinary question is separate from the criminal one and was still open on the IOPC’s last published statement. Anyone wanting the current position should check the IOPC directly rather than any article, including this one.

Sources

• Greater Manchester Police — two men charged after incident at Manchester Airport
• IOPC — criminal investigation into a GMP officer following arrests at Manchester Airport
• IOPC — statement on investigation into use of force arrests at Manchester Airport
• IOPC — update on the investigation
• The Guardian — armed police officer filmed kicking man at Manchester Airport
• ITV News — police officers injured at the airport
• LBC — three police officers assaulted at Manchester Airport

Disclaimer

This page reports court outcomes and published investigation statements as at 26 October 2026. Where a jury reached no verdict, no finding was made — that is neither a conviction nor an acquittal. Muhammad Amaad was cleared of all charges. No police officer has been charged with any offence arising from this incident. The IOPC’s decision on disciplinary proceedings was outstanding on its last published statement and its own website is the authority on the current position. Nothing here is legal advice. More from The UK Post.