New murder trial over the deaths of two Banbury men is set to start next week

Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin (left) and Saqib Hussain

The initial trail was scrapped last year – and now the start date of the new trial date has been moved

The murder trial over the deaths of two Banbury men is set to start next week.

The trial had originally been scheduled to start on Monday April 17 but it has now been moved to Wednesday April 19.

Saqib Hussain and his friend Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21 and from Banbury, were killed when their car was rammed off the road and burst into flames just after midnight on February 11, 2022.

Eight people are accused of murdering the two young men on the A46 near Leicester. All eight defendants deny charges of murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter over the deaths.

The eight defendants are: Natasha Akhtar, 22, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham; Mahek Bukhari, 23, and Ansreen Bukhari, 47, both of George Eardley Close, Tunstall; Raees Jamal, 22, of Lingdale Close, Loughborough; Rekan Karwan, 28, of Tomlin Road, Northfields, Leicester; Mohammed Patel, 20, of Braybrooke Road, Northfields, Leiceste; Sanaf Gulammustafa, 22, of Littlemore Close, Crown Hills, Leicester; and Ameer Jamal, 27, of Catherine Street, Belgrave, Leicester.

The original trial last year was scrapped due to 'jury irregularity'.

A fund was opened to build a new mosque in memory of Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim. To donate visit: https://justgiving.com/campaign/masjidhashimsaqib