A KILLER serving life for a barbaric murder claims that a witness at his trial was too terrified to name the real perpetrators.
Imran Shahid is seeking to challenge his conviction for murdering Kriss Donald, with one proposed ground alleging that there is significant evidence that was not heard in the original proceedings.
Shahid, 32, who is serving a minimum of 25 years i
n prison, was kept handcuffed in the dock by security officers during a procedural hearing at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh yesterday.
His counsel, Graham Bell, QC,
said Shahid was seeking to have additional grounds of appeal brought into his case and for one of them a sworn statement had been obtained from Daanish Zahid.
Zahid was also convicted of the murder of 15-year-old Kriss in Glasgow in separate proceedings and is serving life with a minimum term of 17 years.
Shahid claims there is evidence from Zahid that he was not one of the perpetrators of the crime. He says Zahid was too terrified to name them when he gave evidence at his trial and was threatened by them.
It is alleged that Zahid was bullied and threatened into giving false evidence while in Shotts prison and that his family also came under threat.
Mr Bell said: "My understanding is there is evidence from the prison authorities that threats did take place."
He told the appeal judges that a statement was obtained from Zahid and that a telephone on which he said he recorded threats made to him had been examined. Mr Bell said the phone had been left in the attic of Zahid's home when he was arrested and it showed that he made notes on his mobile after receiving threats.
"The phone records, in my submission, do corroborate or support the allegation which he is now making. The phone was outwith his possession," he said.
Lord Justice General Lord Hamilton, sitting with Lord Kingarth and Lady Cosgrove, agreed to allow further time to let Shahid's defence find independent support for the contentions if they could.
But the judges rejected a further proposed ground of appeal relating to the conduct of his defence at the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2006.
Shahid, nicknamed Baldy, was unanimously convicted of the racially aggravated assault, abduction and murder of Kriss on 15 March, 2004.
Earlier, a bottle had been thrown at him after he had been at Victoria's Nightclub in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, and decided to seek revenge on the McCulloch Street boys from Pollokshields, whom he blamed for the incident.
Shahid and others went out in a stolen Mercedes car and Kriss was bundled into the vehicle. His body was later found at the Clyde Walkway in Parkhead, near Celtic's former training ground.
The trial judge told Shahid that he had been found guilty of the murder of "a wholly innocent 15-year-old boy".
Lord Uist said: "He was selected as your victim only because he was white and walking in a certain part of the Pollokshields area of Glasgow when you sought out a victim.
"This murder consisted of the premeditated, cold-blooded execution of your victim by stabbing him 13 times and setting him alight with petrol while he was still in life," said the judge.
