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Killer of Fusilier David Lee Collins in Cyprus jailed | Killer of Fusilier David Lee Collins in Cyprus jailed |
(35 minutes later) | |
A man who admitted stabbing a British soldier outside a Cyprus nightclub has been jailed for eight years. | |
Mohammed Abdulkadir Osman, 19, from London, admitted manslaughter at a court in Larnaca last month. | Mohammed Abdulkadir Osman, 19, from London, admitted manslaughter at a court in Larnaca last month. |
Fusilier David Lee Collins, 18, from Manchester, was stabbed outside the club in Ayia Napa in November 2011. | |
Charges against two other teenagers, who were both 17 at the time of the stabbing, were dropped. | Charges against two other teenagers, who were both 17 at the time of the stabbing, were dropped. |
Fusilier Collins, from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was stationed at a base in the Dhekelia area of the island. | |
He was off duty with three other soldiers when they became involved in a brawl with three British holidaymakers in the early hours of the morning. | He was off duty with three other soldiers when they became involved in a brawl with three British holidaymakers in the early hours of the morning. |
The stabbing happened the day before he was due to fly out to Afghanistan. | The stabbing happened the day before he was due to fly out to Afghanistan. |
Ministry of Defence spokeswoman Connie Pierce said the attack took place in an area of the eastern Mediterranean island that British soldiers were told to avoid because of previous incidents. | |
Leniency plea | |
Fusilier Collins's mother and her sister - along with members of his regiment - were in court to hear the sentencing. | |
Manslaughter carries a life prison term in Cyprus but Osman's defence lawyer argued successfully for leniency, saying there was no premeditation and his client was provoked during a drunken row. | |
Osman had changed his original not guilty plea and "accepted his guilt for stabbing the soldier". | |
He has since apologised to the soldier's family and fully co-operated with investigators. | |
The fracas is believed to have been ignited by taunting related to Manchester-London rivalry. |