A murder trial is underway after seven men and one 17-year-old boy were charged with killing a man in a violent brawl in Aylesbury.

On October 28 last year, Amir Shafique died aged 22 after he was stabbed during a large fight in the late evening in a car park near the Edinburgh Playing Fields.

The court heard from prosecutors how the group targeted Mr Shafique because they thought he was a “snitch”, and that a “great deal of planning” went into the fatal attack.

The prosecution opened its case against the eight defendants yesterday (Monday) at Reading Crown Court, with all of them charged with murder and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent.

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The defendants are Nasim Khan, 24, of no fixed address; Mohammed Wasim, 20, of Thrasher Road, Aylesbury; Charlie Irwin, 22, of Radnor End, Aylesbury; Bradley Shoult, 21, of Chalgrove Walk, Aylesbury; Bertie Turvey, 22, of Henry Road, Aylesbury; Hamza Mousa, 21, of Cotterill Lane, Birmingham and Ishmael Shah, 23, of Cotterill Lane, Birmingham. The 17-year-old boy cannot be named for legal reasons.

All eight of the defendants have denied the charges against them.

Bringing the case for the prosecution, Miranda Moore told the jury that Mr Shafique was targeted because he was seen as a “snitch” after he gave a statement in a case where his own brother had been stabbed.

Ms Moore outlined how Khan and Wasim, who are both based in Aylesbury, had “issues” with Mr Shafique and masterminded a plan to cause him “really serious harm.”

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She said: “There was a prearranged meeting between Amir Shafique and his friend on the one hand and Mr Khan and Mr Wasim on the other hand.

“The reason for the pre-arranged meeting was that there were grievances between Khan and Amir. What brought it all to a head on October 28 was that Amir was being called a snitch by Mr Khan.

“The suggestion was that that night they were going to meet and sort out their differences.”

According to Ms Moore, Khan, Wasim, Turville, Irwin and Shoult were based in Aylesbury, while Shah, Mousa and the 17-year-old were “reinforcements” who were called in from Birmingham.

Ms Moore alleges that the group were armed when they arrived at the scene, and that they were “ready, willing and able” to attack the victim and his friend, who was also injured in the fight.

Following the attack in Aylesbury, police found several weapons linked to the scene, including a knife, two baseball bats and CS gas, which is similar to tear gas.

It is also believed that Shafique’s group was armed with two baseball bats and a BB gun.

Ms Moore said: “Not all of these defendants physically attacked Amir Shafique. All, however, were part of a plan to cause him and anyone that turned up on his side really serious harm.

“Because that was their plan, they are all just as guilty of the murder of Amir as if they were the one that actually carried out the stabbing.

“The prosecutions says that they all did play their part either in helping in the physical assault, or encouraging it, or both.

“There was a great deal of planning involved by these eight before the physical attack started.”

The trial continues.

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