Azizur Rahman and Shohad Miah were convicted after trial
Two men have been found guilty of kidnapping and attacking an elderly Imam before abandoning him.
The 87-year-old was bundled into a car in September last year, before he was repeatedly punched, hit with a stick, blindfolded and strangled.
He was stripped of his clothes, money and phone – leaving him in just his underwear – before he was dumped on a dark, quiet road and left ‘to his fate’.
Azizur Rahman, 40, and Shohad Miah, 24, kidnapped the elderly man after learning he had been performing prayers and provided amulets to help Rahman’s stepson.
Days after, the pair set fire to the car. An investigation revealed that they had discussed the kidnap and it was recorded on a dashcam.
Following a trial at Manchester Crown Court, the pair were convicted by a jury of a number of offences.
Rahman was convicted of kidnap; robbery; section 18 assault; intentional strangulation; and perverting the course of justice. Miah was convicted of kidnap; section 20 assault; section 20 strangulation; and perverting the course of justice.
They face lengthy jail terms when they are sentenced next month. During the trial, the court heard Rahman’s wife had a child from a previous relationship who had been experiencing ‘issues’.
“As a result she decided to ask a senior member of the Muslim community to come to the house and do by whatever means they can to assist the child by some sort of exorcism and removing an ‘evil spirit’ from the child,” Saul Brody, prosecuting, said.
The victim had been asked to go to the house by the woman and read from the Quran.
“Mr Rahman did not want that particular Imam to be employed or recruited to do that – he wanted somebody else,” the prosecutor added. “It’s really just that which enraged him so much that he wanted to exact revenge.”
Mr Brody said the elderly man was ‘specifically targeted’. On September 15 last year, a black Audi A7 pulled into the 247 Hotel on Windsor Road, Oldham. Both men checked in, with Rahman using his brother’s driving licence.
They then left the hotel together in the Audi and pulled up in front of the victim on Leigh Street at around 9pm as he was walking home.
“Both defendants got out and approached him, grabbed hold of him and forced him into the rear offside passenger side,” Mr Brody added. “The doors were closed and the childlock was activated and he was trapped in the back of the car.”
Miah got into the driver’s seat and Rahman got into the back of the car before he questioned the Imam, asking: “Why have you been in my home? Why have you put an amulet in my home?”
The 87-year-old was then violently attacked and blindfolded. He was said to have ‘pleaded’ with them to stop, telling them: “I’m an old man.”
During the assault, the pair removed his clothes before eventually forcing him out of the car on Oldham Road in Rishworth, Sowerby Bridge.
The man walked for around half an hour before he knocked on at a house for help, and the emergency services were called. He was left with a number of injuries including a bleed on the brain, a bloody wound to his ear, a swelling to his cheekbone, a large bruise to his neck and a missing tooth.
Rahman told jurors he torched the Audi on a public road using petrol and butane days later. He denied that this was to get rid of the car because it was ‘full of blood’, instead saying: “There was black magic in the car…”
“I burned out the car in a public street to get rid of the black magic… It wasn’t a safe and sensible thing to do but it had to be done.”
“Because of the magic?” asked Mr Brody in cross examination. “Yes,” replied Mr Rahman, who added that he was ‘burning the magic away’.
Rahman of Bluebell Walk, St Mary’s Way; and Miah, of Firbank Road, Royton, will be sentenced on May 29.
Sobia Ahmed, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Azizur Rahman and Shohad Miah carried out a disgraceful, targeted attack on a lone man.
“After bundling him into a car, they subjected him to a brutal assault, causing serious injuries including a bleed on his brain.
“Not only was he physically injured and terrified, he also had his phone, cash and clothing stolen before he was callously abandoned on the street in an area he didn’t know.
“Rahman and Miah also set fire to the car in an unsuccessful attempt to thwart the investigation.
“As they face the consequences of their actions that night, I can only hope the victim takes some comfort in knowing they have been brought to justice.”
Detective Sergeant Rick Bolt, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “Azizur Rahman and Shohad Miah have been convicted for their heinous crimes. This conviction serves as a reminder that such acts of violence will not be tolerated, and justice will be served.
“This was not a random attack; the victim was specifically targeted due to a prior visit to Rahman’s home, where he had performed prayers and provided amulets for Rahman’s stepson.
“Fortunately, the kidnap was captured on CCTV footage, which along with other evidence, led investigation officers to the offenders.”