Murder of Kriss Donald
Kriss Donald (2 July 1988 – 15 March 2004) was a Scottish fifteen-year-old white male who was kidnapped, tortured then murdered in Glasgow in 2004. Five Pakistani men were later found guilty of racially-motivated violence; those convicted of murder were all sentenced to life imprisonment.
Kidnapping and murder
On 15 March 2004, Donald was abducted from Kenmure Street by five men associated with a local Pakistani gang led by Imran Shahid. The kidnapping was ostensibly revenge for an attack on Shahid at a nightclub in Glasgow city centre the night before by a local white gang, and Donald was chosen as an example of a "white boy from the McCulloch Street area" despite having no involvement in the nightclub attack or in any gang activity. [1] Donald was taken on a 200-mile journey to Dundee and back while his kidnappers made phone calls looking for a house to take him to. Having no success at this, they returned to Glasgow and took him to the Clyde Walkway, near Celtic Football Club's training ground.[2]
There, they held his arms and stabbed him 13 times. He sustained internal injuries to three arteries, one of his lungs, his liver and a kidney. He was castrated, had his tongue cut out, was doused in petrol, set on fire and left to die.[3]
The five men convicted of the abduction and murder were convicted of racially aggravated offences. After the murder, some of Donald's attackers fled the United Kingdom and sought refuge in Pakistan. Three suspects were arrested in Pakistan in July 2005 and extradited to the UK in October 2005, following the intervention of Mohammed Sarwar, the MP for Glasgow Central.
The Pakistani police had to engage in a ‘long struggle’ to capture two of the escapees. There is no extradition treaty between Pakistan and Britain, so it was unusual for the extradition to be agreed. Pakistan authorities agreed to extradite the suspects after an 18 month campaign by Sarwar.[4] There were numerous diplomatic complications around the case, including apparent divergences between government activities and those of ambassadorial officials; government figures were at times alleged to be reluctant to pursue the case for diplomatic reasons.[5]
The issue of the killing quickly became politicised because of the racial element. After the murder there were reportedly ‘racial tensions’ in the area sufficient to lead to police intervention.[5]
Arrests and trial
Initially, two men were arrested in connection with the crime. One man, Daanish Zahid, was found guilty of Kriss Donald's murder on 18 November 2004 and is the first person to be convicted of racially motivated murder in Scotland. Another man, Zahid Mohammed, admitted involvement in the abduction of Donald and lying to police during their investigation and was jailed for five years. He was released after serving half of his sentence and returned to court to give evidence against three subsequent defendants.
Three other men, Imran Shahid, Zeeshan Shahid, and Mohammed Faisal Mustaq, all in their late twenties, were charged with murder in October 2005 after being extradited from Pakistan. Their trial opened on 2 October 2006 in Scotland.[6]
On 8 November 2006, the three men were found guilty of the racially motivated murder of Kriss Donald. All three had denied the charge; however, a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh convicted them of abduction and murder. [7] Each of the killers received sentences of life imprisonment, with Imran Shahid given a 25-year minimum term, Zeeshan Shahid a 23-year minimum and Mushtaq receiving a recommended minimum of 22 years.
Controversies surrounding the case
The BBC has been criticized by some viewers because the case featured on national news only three times and was later largely confined to regional Scottish bulletins.[citation needed] Although admitting that the BBC had "got it wrong", the organisation's Head of Newsgathering, Fran Unsworth, rejected the suggestion that Donald's race played a part in the lack of reportage, instead claiming it was a product of "Scottish blindness". [8]
The British National Party were accused by Scotland's First Minister and Labour Party MSP Jack McConnell among others of seeking to exploit the case for political advantage, and an open letter signed by some prominent individuals, including MSPs, trades unionists, and community leaders condemned the BNP's plans to stage a visit to Pollokshields. The group did hold a rally in the area, leading to accusations that it was fuelling racial tension and exploiting a death for political capital.[9]
An article in The Scotsman newspaper alleged a lack of response by authorities to concerns of rising racial tensions and that Strathclyde Police had felt pressured to abandon Operation Gadher, an investigation into Asian gangs in the area, for fear of offending ethnic minorities.[10] On 8 November 2006 Bashir Maan, a prominent Pakistani Glaswegian, also claimed on BBC television that police were well aware of the activities of Asian gangs in Glasgow but were reluctant to take action for fear of being accused of racism.[citation needed] In a January 2005 interview with a Scottish newspaper, he had previously claimed that “fear and intimidation” had allowed problems with Asian gangs in some parts of the city to go unchecked. The article also quoted a former senior Strathclyde police officer who criticised “a culture of political correctness” which had allowed gang crime to “grow unfettered”.[11]
A BBC report suggests that another reason for inaction was lack of evidence, as locals were more prepared to make complaints than to give evidence in court. [4]
Some commentators have argued the murder was somewhat mischaracterised in the media, as well as expressing a doubt that significant ethnic tensions exist in Pollokshields[12].
Mohammed Sarwar decided to step down as MP at the next election after his son, Athif, was convicted of VAT fraud.[13]
Glasgow band Glasvegas wrote the song "Flowers And Football Tops" about Donald's murder from the point of view of his father.
Legacy
One of the most notable impacts of the murder was to force some people to examine their views of racism and its victims. Commentators such as Mark Easton cite the racist murders of Donald and also Ross Parker as demonstrating how society has been forced to redefine racism and discard the erroneous definition of "prejudice plus power" – a definition which only allowed ethnic minorities to be victims.[14]
See also
References
- ^ "Gangsters, murder and extradition" BBC News
- ^ Three jailed for life for race murder of schoolboy. The Guardian
- ^ "Boy was set on fire as he bled to death" Glasgow Evening Times
- ^ a b news.bbc.co.uk
- ^ a b news.scotsman.com
- ^ “Schoolboy murder trial under way” BBC News
- ^ “Trio jailed for Kriss race murder” BBC News
- ^ "BBC Newswatch Interview with Fran Unsworth" RealPlayer streamed from the BBC website
- ^ sundayherald.com
- ^ “Murder hunt police drop ‘politically incorrect’ gang crackdown” by Dan McDougall in the Scotsman
- ^ “Row over policing Asian gangs” by Imaad Azim in the iWitness
- ^ "spiked-online.com". Retrieved 2007-06-24.
- ^ "Millionaire Labour MP's son begins new life behind bars."
- ^ "Racism and race crime redefined". BBC News. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
External links
- “Abducted, stabbed and set on fire for being white” by Arnot McWhinney in The Scotsman, Friday 2004-11-19
- “Man killed schoolboy as act of racist revenge” by Kirsty Scott in The Guardian, Friday 2004-11-19
- "Gangsters, murder and extradition"
- "Three jailed for life for racially-motivated murder of schoolboy"