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Suliaman Tajzai has pleaded not guilty to murder after prosecutors alleged the killing was 'neither a coincidence nor spontaneous'

An Afghan small boat migrant travelled nearly 200 miles from Leeds to London before allegedly stabbing a shop worker to death near Westminster Abbey, a court has been told.

Suliaman Tajzai, who is understood to be 18, is accused of murdering 26-year-old Farmanullah Sherzad on March 27 in what prosecutors allege was a planned attack stemming from a family dispute.

Mr Tajzai has pleaded not guilty to murder and possession of a knife in a public place.

The Old Bailey heard that the defendant crossed the English Channel from France via small boat on August 1, 2022, entering Britain illegally.

He claimed asylum the following day and told officials he was 14 at the time, although the court heard that he did not know his exact date or month of birth.

Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC told jurors: "[Tajzai] entered the UK illegally on 1st August 2022 having travelled from France on an inflatable boat across the Channel.

"The following day he made a claim for asylum and on 17th January 2024 he was granted temporary leave to remain until January 2029."

Mr Tajzai subsequently settled in Beeston, Leeds, where his cousin Zakirullah Tarakhail also lived.

The prosecution alleges that a family dispute involving Mr Tarakhail's wife was the motive for the attack.

Jurors heard that Mr Tajzai made three journeys to London before Mr Sherzad's death, which prosecutors allege were used to establish where the shop worker lived and worked.

On the morning of the stabbing, Mr Tajzai bought the kitchen knife that would later be found lodged in Mr Sherzad's chest, the court heard.

Ms Wilding told jurors the killing was "neither a coincidence nor spontaneous" and alleged Mr Tajzai had deliberately targeted Mr Sherzad.

She said: "He travelled to London armed with that knife, waited for his target outside his home and then confronted him in a sustained and brutal attack that led to Mr Sherzad's immediate death."

The court heard that Mr Tajzai pursued Mr Sherzad through the Peabody Estate on Abbey Orchard Street in Westminster.

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Two nearby residents overheard the disturbance before officers found Mr Sherzad lying in a pool of blood with a large kitchen knife protruding from his chest, jurors were told.

The prosecution also alleges that during an earlier trip to London, Mr Tajzai and his cousin located Mr Sherzad at a shop in south London and waited there for a considerable period.

Mr Tajzai then hired a bicycle and followed Mr Sherzad, the court heard.

Ms Wilding asked jurors what had motivated the alleged pursuit, saying: "Anger? Revenge? Curiosity? Whatever the reason, it persisted."

The dispute dated back to September 2025, when Mr Tarakhail reported Mr Sherzad to police and accused him of stalking and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence against his wife, the court heard.

When officers visited the Tarakhail home in Leeds on October 3, they found Mr Sherzad sitting on the floor without shoes and with his wrists bound with fabric.

Mr Sherzad told officers: "Me and Safa (Kabuli Tarakhil) have been seeing each other romantically. She messages me on Snapchat and calls me to come and see her. Today she asked me to come to her house."

He insisted he was the victim, saying: "I did not say I want to have sex with Safa at all. This is the third time I have seen Safa. I am the victim here please help me."

Police subsequently dropped the case against Mr Sherzad and informed the Tarakhails of the decision.

Ms Wilding told the jury: "It is clear that in her mind, and you may conclude, her husband's, this was not over."