Murder accused teenager 'feared rape'
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A teenager accused of murdering a school student support officer today told a court that he had feared being raped or killed by him.
The 17-year-old said he took a kitchen knife when he went to see Muhammad Amirul Haq in case the older man tried to force him "into sexual acts".
He told an Old Bailey jury that the blade went into the 27-year-old, known as Amir, as the victim "lunged" towards it.
The boy, who denies murder, said he produced the weapon after Mr Haq gripped his arm and put his hand on his crotch.
He said he told Mr Haq to "back off" and tried to get out of his room but the door would not open.
Mr Haq was trying to persuade him to "help" him and "sounded very fearsome and very forceful", the teenager said.
"I genuinely thought that he would either rape me or, if I refused, he would kill me," he added.
"I produced the knife. As he was holding my arm I brought it out and held it in front of me.
"He said, 'Help me this time and you can leave'. I told him to back off and let me go. He said. 'What are you going to do? There is nothing you can do, no one will believe you'. He lunged towards me."
Asked what happened with the knife, the teenager told the court: "I believe it went into him." The boy said that after the victim staggered on to the bed, he fled.
Jurors have been told that Mr Haq was stabbed in the heart and died in hospital a few hours after the incident at his family home in Poplar, east London, last November.
The court has heard that Mr Haq was "outwardly religious" but, despite appearances, was bisexual and had had a number of male partners.