A British man has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 23 years for fatally stabbing a 16-year-old Syrian refugee in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, after a brief street encounter.

Alfie Franco, 20, was convicted at Leeds Crown Court of murdering Ahmad Al Ibrahim, who had recently fled the war in Syria and arrived in the UK just weeks before the attack. Prosecutors said Franco stabbed the teenager in the neck after Ahmad “innocently brushed past” Franco’s girlfriend in the town centre in April.

The court heard that Franco, who had taken cannabis, cocaine, diazepam, ketamine, and codeine, confronted Ahmad over the minor contact before calling him back and stabbing him with a flick knife he had hidden in his trousers. CCTV footage showed Franco initiating the exchange moments before the killing.

Judge Howard Crowson described the attack as a “senseless and unprovoked act”, saying Franco “identified Ahmad as a target, lured him closer, and struck before he could react.” The judge dismissed Franco’s claim that he saw a weapon on the victim as “a lie.”

Ahmad was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries. Judge Crowson said it was “a testament to the efforts of medical staff and Ahmad’s will to live” that he reached the hospital at all, as his wounds were ultimately “unsurvivable.”

During sentencing, a statement from Ahmad’s uncle, Ghazwan Al Ibrahim, written with his parents’ input, was read aloud. It described the devastating toll of the murder on the family — including Ahmad’s father suffering a heart attack upon hearing of his son’s death. “His mother still cries over his clothes as they smell of him,” the statement said.

Ghazwan said Ahmad had hoped Britain would be “the land of peace and the fulfilment of dreams,” but instead “was cruelly taken away by a senseless and unprovoked act.” Speaking after court, he added, “Ahmad, we love you, we miss you, and we will forever.”

Ahmad had fled Homs, Syria, after being injured in a bombing and spent three months traveling to the UK. He had lived at a youth centre in Swansea and attended college there before moving to Huddersfield, where he aspired to study medicine to care for his ailing mother.

Franco, who denied murder but admitted possessing a knife in public, was found guilty after a jury deliberated for just over three hours.