LONDON: Two others have been charged in connection with the murder of Aya Hachem, a Lebanese-born law student who was shot during a drive-by shooting in England nearly two years ago.
Eight people were jailed for a total of more than 200 years last year for their part in the murder of the 19-year-old. She was shot on May 17, 2020, when she went to a supermarket to buy food for her family to break the Ramadan fast. The bullet entered his left shoulder and passed through his body. He later died in the hospital.
Tire company owner Firoz Suleman, 40, arranged for the execution of a rival businessman, Pachah Khan, 31, a car wash owner, but instead the gunman he had hired shot an innocent passerby, Hakem. was given.
Suleiman was sentenced to at least 34 years in prison before being considered for parole. The gunman, 33-year-old Zamir Raja, who missed his first shot before hitting Hackem a second, was also sentenced to at least 34 years in prison.
His driver, 31-year-old Anthony Ennis, must have served at least 33 years. Ayaz Hussain (36), Abubakar Satia (32), Usman Satia (29) and Kashif Manzoor (26) have been sentenced to at least 32 years, 28 years, 28 years and 27 years in jail.
Following a review of evidence by Lancashire Police, 37-year-old Suhail Suleiman and 41-year-old Lewis Otway have now been charged with Hachem’s murder and attempted murder of Khan.
Both men were interviewed in the early stages of the preliminary investigation but were released without charge. Lancashire Police said the two men were to appear in a local court on Friday.
Hatchem’s family fled violence in her native Lebanon when she was a child and settled in Blackburn, in the north of England, where she dreamed of becoming a lawyer.
After her death, her father Ismail said that his dreams had been destroyed by the murder of his daughter.
“I thought I would be safe here … in this small town. No big problems,” he told the BBC at the time. “All my dreams[were]came. Everything had come.
“He had big dreams, he helped many people. Anywhere, everyone liked Aya. But we lost Aya. My family has lost Aaya.”