Internet feud breaks out over campaign to clear killer
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An internet feud has broken out between supporters of a murderer and friends of his victim over the suggestion that the conviction was unfair and should be quashed.
Relatives of Jake Fahri, who was jailed for life in March after being found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen following an argument in a bakery in south London, have set up a group on Facebook titled: Justice For Jake Fahri.
They claim that the 19-year-old, who was described by the police as a "yob" and has previous convictions for robbery, burglary and common assault, was acting in self-defence when he threw an oven dish at Jimmy Mizen.
The oven dish shattered and a shard of glass severed Jimmy's carotid artery and jugular vein. But Fahri and his supporters claim that he never intended to kill the 6ft2in "Gentle giant". It was the same defence used by Mizen in his trial.
Those claims have angered friends of Jimmy who have now set up their own group on the social networking site calling for the removal of the original group, which has 339 members. The ‘stop the group JUSTICE FOR JAKE FAHRI convicted murderer' group now has 1,032 members.
Craig Cooper, a member of the larger group, told the Lewisham and Catford New Shopper: "Justice has been done and the Old Bailey has made a unanimous decision. The Fahri family should be accepting he has fallen into demonised ways and they should set a site up telling young people not to do the same."
The Justice For Jake Fahri group was reportedly created by friends and relatives of Fahri, including Tracy O'Mahoney and his sister Molly Mae Fahri.
The site says: "Jake hasn't received a fair trial. He was tried and convicted by the press before he ever stepped into court. Support Justice for Jake Fahri, and Justice in court and not by the press. Jake has been labelled many things and a perception of him as been built up around the country of that of a ‘brutal thug', this group is for people who actually know him, his friends, family and people who share the same view."
It adds: "Can we all make perfectly clear that this is no way disrespecting the Mizen family."
Jimmy's father, Barry Mizen said that the website was "silly" and "pointless", adding: "Originally when we saw the site it was very difficult. We didn't expect it. But I think people are intelligent enough and sensible enough to make up their own minds. For us a court trial is all about the truth and the truth came out."
Fahri was convicted in March this year. He had clashed with Jimmy and his brother, Harry, in the Three Cooks bakery in Lee, south London, after Jimmy stood his ground when Fahri demanded he get out of his way. Fahri hit Jimmy on the head with two plastic bottles, but the brothers fought back, punching him out of the shop and then locking the doors. Fahri smashed his way back in using a metal advertising display. When Jimmy tried to take it from him, Fahri threw the tray.
Following the verdict, the judge, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith told the teenag
er that he had opportunities to walk away from the incident in the bakery, which happened in May 2008. But added: "The court accepts you did not intend to kill your victim."