A Huddersfield barrister has been jailed after plotting a revenge attack with a career criminal client who had been shot during a violent feud between drugs gangs.
Samreen Akhtar, 38, was sentenced to three years and three months at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, September 7.
She had been convicted of encouraging or assisting the commission of grievous bodily harm with intent under the Serious Crime Act 2007.
Akhtar denied the offence but was found guilty by a majority jury following a five-day trial in June.
Revenge Plot Followed Shooting
At the time of the offence, Akhtar was working as a barrister and representing Tabish Ali.
Ali had been shot and injured in Blacker Road, Huddersfield, on September 14, 2021.
The following day, Akhtar was recorded during a telephone conversation with Ali putting forward a plan to locate the person responsible for the shooting so that they could be seriously injured.
West Yorkshire Police said the attempted murder of Ali was believed to have been connected to an ongoing feud between rival drug-dealing groups in Kirklees.
The feud had involved repeated violence and firearms incidents dating back to 2018.
Client Later Convicted Of Murder
Just weeks after the conversation with Akhtar, Ali was charged with the murder of Jamal Nedd.
Mr Nedd was shot and fatally wounded outside his home in Ripon Avenue, Huddersfield, on December 19, 2020, as he drove his mother to work.
Ali, who was then living on Clare Road in Cleckheaton, was later convicted of murder alongside two other men.
All three were sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2022.
Their trial heard that Mr Nedd’s killing formed part of an escalating turf war between drug gangs operating in the area.
Akhtar Arrested In 2022
Akhtar was arrested by detectives in February 2022.
She was charged in March 2023 with encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable offence, specifically inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.
The investigation was led by specialist detectives from West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit.
Following her conviction in June, she returned to Manchester Crown Court for sentencing and was given a prison term of three years and three months.
Police: ‘She Became A Criminal Herself’
Detective Inspector Paul Hutchinson, who led the investigation, said Akhtar should have been fully aware of the responsibilities attached to her profession.
“As a professional working in the criminal justice system, Samreen Akhtar would have been acutely aware of her legal and moral responsibilities, but she chose to act outside of those to plot revenge with a dangerous criminal involved in a violent gang feud,” he said.
He added that her actions showed “a complete disregard for the standards that are expected of those in the legal profession” and for the impact that gang-related crime has on communities.
Police said the investigation formed part of Programme Precision, West Yorkshire Police’s continuing effort to target serious and organised criminal activity.
Barrister Had Previously Promoted Social Mobility
Before her conviction, Akhtar had spoken publicly about her route into the legal profession and her working-class background.
She said her father, who worked as a mechanic, helped proofread applications while she pursued a career at the Bar.
Akhtar studied law at the University of Huddersfield after continuing her education beyond the age of 16.
She later became a Social Mobility Advocate and encouraged women from minority and working-class backgrounds to pursue careers at the Bar.
