Three sentenced to life for Kriss Donald murder

Published on Wednesday 8 November 2006 13:07

THREE men have been found guilty and jailed for life for the racially aggravated murder of Glasgow teenager Kriss Donald.

Imran Shahid, 29, was ordered to spend at least 25 years behind bars; his brother Zeeshan Shahid, 28, must serve at least 23 years; and 27-year-old Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq will spend 22 years behind bars for the abduction, assault and brutal killing on March 15 2004.

After a 27-day trial, the jury of nine women and six men deliberated for eight hours before deciding unanimously on the fate of the accused.

Kriss Donald's mother, Angela, shouted "you bastards" at the three men as the jury delivered its verdict.

In March 2004, Donald, 15, was abducted, stabbed repeatedly and then set on fire, possibly while still alive.

The Glasgow teen was snatched from a street in Pollockshields, Glasgow, then taken on 200-mile round trip before his abductors murdered him. A cyclist found the body on the secluded Clyde walkway the morning after Donald had been kidnapped.

Dr Marjorie Black told the High Court that Donald had been stabbed 13 times, probably while restrained, as he only had one defensive wound and set on fire so that burns covered 70 per cent of his body.

The body was covered in mud, leading the pathologist to conclude that he may have rolled around in an attempt to extinguish the flames and was therefore alive when set alight. Both the stab wounds and the burns were so severe that either could have led to his death.

The Shahid brothers and Mushtaq all fled to Pakistan after the murder and although warrants were issued for their arrest it was more than a year before they were returned to Scotland to face trial.

Daanish Zahid, 22, was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years for the murder of Donald at a previous trial, while Zahid Mohammed was sentenced to five years for giving police a false statement and after pleading guilty to the abduction only.

The murder of Donald aroused fears that racial tensions in Glasgow's multi-cultural southside would erupt onto the streets when it was revealed that the men accused of his crime were Asian. The British National Party moved to campaign in the area with BNP leader Nick Griffiths accusing the police of not doing enough to clamp down on Asian gangs in the area.

However, Donald's mother Angela at the time appealed to the community for restraint.

"It doesn't matter to my family what colour these men are. Kriss is gone because of gangs, not just in Pollockshields but in every area of our communities," she said.