Four men to stand trial over alleged murder of sniper who fought the Islamic State

Four men are to stand trial after denying the murder of a former Kurdish sniper.

Two Middlesbrough men – Noza Saffari, 38, of Park Lane, and Anxhelo Xhaferi, 23, of Acton Street – were in the dock with Dorian Pirija, 32, of Trillo Avenue, Bolton, and Florian Marku, 24, of West Drayton, Middlesex.

They all pleaded not guilty to the murder of dad-of-two Hamawand Hussain on September 14 last year.

They are accused of murdering Mr Hussain, 30, in Charterhouse Street, Hartlepool .

A trial before a High Court judge is scheduled to start on February 25 at Teesside Crown Court and is estimated to last four to six weeks.

Judge Stephen Ashurst remanded all four men in custody.

He told them: “The next time you will appear in court is when your case will be listed before a judge and jury trial on February 25.”

Mr Hussain served with the Kurdish Regional Governorate’s Peshmerga military forces in Northern Iraq.

He was a skilled Kurdish sniper and joined the front line in the global battle against the Islamic State militant group. He became a Peshmerga representative with the international anti-Isis coalition and Peshmerga commanders described him as a great soldier.

Mr Hussain’s family paid tribute to him, saying: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our partner and father Hamawand.”

Source: Gazette Live