Accused says victim attacked him with knife

A man told a jury he feared he was about to be stabbed during a struggle in a bath tub with his boyfriend who he is accused of murdering.

Imran Uddin said Ismail Younis lunged at him with a knife on 17 August before he grabbed his wrist and put a hand around his neck in an attempt to save his own life. "I wanted to save my life. I did not want to get stabbed," he said.

He said his relationship with Younis deteriorated in the weeks before the death, saying it was "not the best" and that the pair bickered "all the time" over his contact with another man.

Uddin, 33, denies murdering Younis whose body was found at the defendant's home on Richmond Road in Hockley, Birmingham, three days later.

The court heard how the victim had a "fit" after discovering Uddin had been unfaithful.

"When he's angry he will just slap me across the face... he slapped me and pushed me. All I did was push him away," he said.

The pair "wrestled" in the bedroom then "we looked at each other hugged and said this isn't going to work any more."

Younis went into the bathroom and filled up the bath with water, the court heard. He asked the defendant for a bottle of poppers, recreational drugs, which Uddin went to hand him.

"Next thing I know he pushes me into the bath tub... he jumps on top of me… I instantly put my hand around his neck... my head was being pushed under water.

"Before I saw the knife in his hand… he said 'don't compare me to your ugly exes'.

"I was trying to save myself… I was frightened of being attacked… I strangled him… because I was frightened he was going to attack me."

The pair exchanged around 1,000 messages earlier that day, with some attributed to Younis including, "I want you dead", "go die you" and "remember your time is up", Birmingham Crown Court heard.

The court previously heard the defendant was not openly homosexual, and that he "didn't feel comfortable" with his family knowing his sexuality.

Uddin pointed to a message, in which Younis allegedly threatened to "expose" him on social media. He told the court he understood this to mean revealing details about his private life.

As Uddin gave evidence in his defence for the first time, jurors were shown messages sent from Younis to Uddin where the victim claimed he would "teach you a lesson never to forget."

Representing Uddin, Martin Rutherford KC asked if he had ever seen or experienced the victim in an "angry and aggressive mood."

"I said to him everything he was saying is illegal", referring to the threats, the court heard.

"I didn't like the threats coming from him."

Previously the court heard how security camera footage recorded the two men at the entrance of Younis's workplace, a shop in the Bullring Shopping Centre.

When asked about his intention in going to his place of work, the defendant said: "I went to go and reconcile… I wanted to make up with him… just as friends."

"I said, 'We need to speak about what was said last night… it's not nice'", he told the jury.

"He told me to come back and see him on his break."

The trial continues.

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