Family of murdered Yorkshire man pay tribute to 'loyal and dutiful son' as his killers are sentenced to life

The family of Amriz Iqbal have issued a statement to the media after two men were jailed for his murder last October.

They have issued the statement to pay tribute to Mr Iqbal after hearing 'much about the defendants and very little about the victim' during the trial.

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Mr Iqbal, known as Major to those who knew him, was knocked down and fatally inured by a car in Bradford in October 3 2018.

In the statement, his family describe him as 'a wonderful human being who lived life to the fullest."

It continues: "He was a loyal and dutiful son to his mother, who only two years previous lost her oldest son, Parvaiz, to a sudden illness.

"Having to deal with the death of Amriz in such horrific circumstances such a short time after the death, one can only imagine the pain she has had to endure."

The family describe the impact Mr Iqbal's death has had on his wife and three sons, Harris 15, Yahya 3, and Yousef aged just 1.

They say: "The youngest two children will sadly have little recollection of their father.

"For Harris, who had a very close relationship with his father, these events have been difficult to compute - an event which will scar him emotionally for the rest of his life.

"His wife Nazia dreamed of a happy future with her husband and those hopes and dreams were cut down by the events of October 3 2018."

"We are thankful that he was able to spend the last moments in the world with the people he loved the most, his mother, wife and sons."

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In the statement, Mr Iqbal's family describe his killers as cowards.

It states: "His life was taken by the worst kind of cowardice - a group of men armed with weapons and masks using a vehicle to attack whilst he was walking in the opposite direction for a motive he had no knowledge of.

"It came as no surprise that those same men took the cowardly way out at Court by refusing to give any kind of explanation and hid behind their legal teams in the face of overwhelming evidence.

"There can be no doubt about their guilt from the evidence that was presented in Court.

"Perhaps one day they will have the decency and courage to explain why this happened although we have no confidence in this. They will be defined by their own cowardice."

They thanked the police for their hard work on the investigation and the 'valuable support to the family over the last seven months', and the CPS.

In particular the family praised prosecutor Peter Moulson QC saying: "Mr Moulson was exceptional in his presentation of the case but his kindness in taking out time to explain the day’s events to the family went beyond his role and for that we are most thankful."

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The statement concluded: ""Finally we ask for everyone to remember Amriz Iqbal in their prayers.

"Many of his friends and family will visit at his final resting place today and we ask that those prayers and support continue.

"We pray that Allah forgives Amriz for any mistakes and grants him a place in the garden of paradise.

"Today we have no hate or bad feelings. Today was about the love we had for Major and we will always continue to have."