Birmingham riot deaths: Judge tells jury 'to put emotions to one side'
Jurors in the trial of eight men accused of murder during last summer's riots in Birmingham have been told to put their emotions to one side.
Haroon Jahan, 20, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31 died after being hit by a car in the Winson Green area in August 2011.
Mr Justice Flaux said they died at a time of "unparalleled" civil disorder on the city's streets.
The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict later this week
The trial at Birmingham Crown Court started in April.
On the first day of his summing up, the judge told jurors: "What happened to those three young men on Dudley Road on that night was a shocking and tragic waste of life.
"However, you must put all emotions and sympathy to one side and you must not let them cloud the judgment you have to make.
"It's for you to decide what evidence you accept, what evidence you reject and what evidence you are not certain about.
"What you mustn't do is speculate about what other evidence there might have been.
The prosecution alleges that all eight defendants were party to a plan to drive a vehicle at a crowd of people on Dudley Road, Winson Green, in the early hours of 10 August.
The crowd were part of a group that had gathered to protect local businesses and homes that had been targeted by looters on the previous evening.
It is alleged that a Ford Fiesta and an Audi car were used to lure pedestrians into the road, where they were hit by a Mazda.
All eight defendants deny planning to harm the men and the driver of the Mazda, 30-year-old Ian Beckford, of Holly Bush Road, Quinton, denies deliberately driving into the victims.
The other defendants are: Adam King, 24, of no fixed address; Ryan Goodwin, 21, of Cranford Street, Smethwick; Joshua Donald, 27, of Kelsall Croft, Ladywood; Shaun Flynn, 26, of Wandsworth Road, Kingstanding; Everton Graham, 30, of Mount Pleasant Avenue, Handsworth; Juan Pablo Ruiz-Gaviria, 31, of Coplow Street, Ladywood, and 18-year-old Aaron Parkins, whose address has been withheld by the court.