A Kuwaiti man has been convicted of murdering an Omani student in a late-night attack close to Harrods department store in London.
A jury found Badir Rahim Alnazi, 24, guilty of murdering Mohammed Al Araimi, 20, with a single stab wound to his chest, which he dealt while accosting the wealthy young victim and his friend moments after they left a restaurant in the upmarket London district of Knightsbridge.
Prosecutors said the pair were attacked in December 2019 by Alnazi and his accomplice, Arseboon Dilbaro, 22, a German national, who had been roaming some of London’s wealthier areas for 90 minutes, hunting for victims, the court heard.
Al Araimi, the son of a prominent businessman, put up a fight when the two men pounced on him in a narrow alleyway.
But he suffered a fatal wound during the melee and collapsed next to a Christmas tree outside the famous store as he fled.
Efforts to revive him proved unsuccessful.
After two days of deliberations, the jury convicted Alnazi of murder but cleared his accomplice of the same charge.
Alnazi had previously admitted to committing manslaughter but had denied murder, claiming he had not meant to stab Al Araimi.
Dilbaro, who fled to Egypt after the killing, blamed the stabbings on Alnazi. He said he left the UK because he was scared of Alnazi and feared arrest.
He was arrested after he returned to the UK last summer.
Dilbaro was cleared of murder and possessing a knife but convicted of wounding after he was captured on security cameras hitting Al Araimi’s friend Nasser Kanoo, now 22.
Mr Kanoo was stabbed in the back during the attack but recovered from his injuries. He gave evidence for the trial in London via video link from Bahrain.
Alnazi and Dilbaro, who were cleared of attempted robbery, will be sentenced next month.
