In a year where national debates over immigration, conflict, and identity raged, Birmingham found itself at the heart of Britain's struggle with racial division. The city's courts worked through a backlog of cases, jailing individuals whose actions were deemed to have poured fuel on the fire of community tensions.
Violent Disorder and Online Threats
The fallout from the anti-EDL gathering in Bordesley Green in summer 2024 continued into 2025, with several key participants receiving prison sentences. In May, Adam Said, then 19, was jailed for two years and four months for violent disorder. The court heard he played a 'key role', driving a Range Rover through streets while passengers waved Palestinian flags, and was involved in three major flashpoints including reckless driving and besieging a pub.
Earlier in April, two other men were sentenced for their parts in the same chaos. Amon Bahri, 20, from Solihull received one year and nine months, while Muhammed Ali, also 20, from Bordesley Green was given two years and six months, both for violent disorder.
In a connected case, Birmingham rapper Omar Abdirizak, known as 'Twista Cheese', was sentenced in March to 20 weeks. The 32-year-old from Sparkbrook was found guilty of sending a menacing message after making a threatening TikTok video about right-wing activist Tommy Robinson, which included gun gestures. Later in 2025, Abdirizak received a separate sentence of over six years for a petrol station attack.
Extremism and Terror Plots
One of the most severe cases concluded in 2025 involved Jason Savage, 35, who was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years. Savage, a convert to Islam, was convicted of preparing acts of terrorism by planning an attack on a mosque and bookshop in Small Heath in 2024. He had changed his WhatsApp name to 'Lone Wolf' and carried out reconnaissance on his targets.
In a reminder of enduring extremist ideologies, Shaan Farooq, 19, from Saltley was jailed in February for five years and six months. He was found guilty on three counts of distributing terrorism material supporting the banned Islamic State group, discovered on his devices during a 2022 police raid.
Far-Right Violence and Wider Regional Cases
At the other end of the extremist spectrum, Rebecca Harris, a 35-year-old Aston Villa fan, was sentenced to eight years and two months. Her crimes included a racially aggravated attack on police officers, during which she chanted 'EDL', and slashing a Birmingham City supporter at a Solihull hotel.
The courts also dealt with cases from across the West Midlands. Coventry father Shakeel Yunis, 44, received 18 months for a TikTok rant falsely accusing a man of being in the IDF and threatening he would be 'dragged out of Nando's'. The victim was forced to move home and change his name.
In one of the year's most extreme regional cases, Callum Ulysses Parslow, 32, was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 22 years and eight months for the attempted murder of an asylum seeker in Hindlip, Worcestershire. Parslow, who has Hitler's signature tattooed on his arm, claimed the stabbing was a 'form of protest' against small boat crossings.
A City's Underlying Strain
These convictions, while representing a tiny minority, highlighted the racial tensions bubbling beneath the surface in Birmingham and the wider region. The year was punctuated by flashpoints, including West Midlands Police's unprecedented decision to ban Israeli football fans from an Aston Villa match to prevent disorder.
The sentences of 2025 served as judicial bookmarks on a year of heightened volatility, demonstrating how global conflicts and national debates can manifest in local violence and hatred, challenging the fabric of one of the UK's most diverse cities.
