Boy's murderer should not be named, judges say

Two High Court judges have overturned a decision to allow the identification of a 15-year-old murderer who killed a teenager in Birmingham city centre.

Muhammad Hassam Ali, 17 and known as Ali, died in hospital hours after he and a friend were followed by two masked males before he was attacked in Victoria Square.

One of the youths, who was aged 15 when he was sentenced in November, was detained for life with a minimum term of 13 years for the murder, on 20 January.

A judge's decision to lift reporting restrictions protecting his identity was overturned at a hearing in London.

High Court judges, Lord Justice Jeremy Baker and Mr Justice Jay, were told the process of deciding whether to name the teenager was "unnecessarily rushed" and the original judge in the case did not provide sufficient reasons.

Ali's killer, who had not been publicly named pending his appeal against the decision, will now remain anonymous until his 18th birthday.

A second 15-year-old, who was standing nearby at the time of the attack, was found guilty of manslaughter and possessing a knife and was sentenced to five years' detention in secure accommodation.

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