Man to stand trial over alleged murder of Islington boxer Mahad Ali

A man has been charged with the murder of Hornsey Rise teenager Mahad Ali. He is set to stand trial next year.

Sakariya Gasar, 20, of Waverly Avenue, Wembley, appeared at the Old Bailey this morning and a trial has been pencilled in for April 9.

He was charged with murder on Thursday: four months after Mr Ali, of Lambton Road, was stabbed to death outside a warehouse party in Park Royal, north west London, on June 29.

Mr Ali was an aspiring boxer who trained with Islington Boxing Club, just yards away from his house. He had progressed through the junior academy to compete for the club.

One of Mr Ali’s best friends, Tariq Rahman, met him at Highbury Grove School in Year 7. He told the Gazette after his death that Mr Ali was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and added: “He was the kind of person everyone liked. He was the most trustworthy person you could get.”

Reggie Hagland, manager of Islington Boxing Club, added: “He was a lovely, lovely kid. I wouldn’t expect him to get into any trouble. I would have thought, not fully knowing what happened in this incident, it would have been a case of Mahad being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”