Derby Telegraph
May 4, 2015
A CONVICTED murderer, jailed for 22 years for killing a man in Derby, is taking his appeal to the European Courtof Justice.
Imran Rashid was one of five men found guilty of the murder of Serioza Lawskowski in Normantonfour years ago today.
Their trial was told that the 29-year-old, a Polish national living in Derby, was surrounded by a masked gang who then beat him to death.
But 33-year-old father-of-five Rashid has always denied the charge and now his family in Derby are spearheading a campaign to try and get him cleared.
They have already had their appeals twice thrown out by the Court of Appeal in London.
Now they are taking it as high as they can to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg – and are confident they will be successful.
Imran Rashid’s brother, Ali, 36, said: “Imran has said all along that he did not commit this crime and we are of the firm belief that much of the evidence that convicted him was circumstantial.
“And it is not just us that believe this because a number of people in the community are supporting us and getting behind us.
“We have a website which highlights our thoughts and beliefs on the conviction and almost 1,000 people are supporting our ‘Free Imran Rashid’ Facebook page.
“There is a groundswell of support for the campaign and the court in Europe has already looked at some of the papers and asked us to supply more, which we think is a good sign.”