Man receives suspended sentence following dog attack on 11-year-old girl

A man who acknowledged ownership of a dog, believed to be an XL bully, that injured an 11-year-old girl in Birmingham, has been handed a two-year suspended sentence. Farhat Ajaz, 62, of Bordesley Close, had previously entered a guilty plea at Birmingham Crown Court to three charges of owning a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control. The girl sustained shoulder and arm injuries in September 2023 during an assault by the dog, named Tyson. Two additional men were injured when they attempted to intervene. The court was informed that the dog was “likely to be an XL bully”. This incident was one of several across the country before the government announced its intentions to ban the breed. During the proceedings, the judge was also told that Ajaz had threatened to kill a former partner as part of a harassment campaign. It was revealed in court that he was subject to a lifelong licence at the time of these offences, having been imprisoned in 1979 and serving 25 years before his release in 2004. CCTV footage showing the dog attacking the girl was presented in court. Further video evidence depicted attacks on the men, Numaan Ahmed and Yousef Ahmadzai. In mitigation, Ekwal Tiwana described the dog attack as a “sheer act of stupidity”. He informed the court that Ajaz had acquired the dog for his son and had been on a long-term licence after being jailed for 25 years when he was only 15. Mr Tiwana highlighted his client’s guilty plea, remorse, attempts to stop the attack, and a range of health issues including chest, lung, and heart problems, but the judge characterized the attack as “horrific”. Judge Heidi Kubik KC stated: “You were out and about on the street with the dog, even at that stage not in the best of health and frankly not in a capable state of restraining the dog, who was not muzzled at the time.” She continued: “It set about attacking three separate people including an 11-year-old girl. It was a horrific attack. She was undoubtedly and rightly terrified.” The judge remarked that the “vile, threatening and abusive” harassment of a former partner in 2022, on its own, warranted a custodial sentence. Ajaz suffers from lung disease and cardiac problems, the court heard. The judge concluded: “Bearing in mind your guilty pleas and the health conditions that you now suffer, I take the view that it would not be in the interests of justice to send you to immediate custody.” Ajaz was prohibited from owning a dog for the remainder of his life and was made subject to a restraining order. Last year, the BBC reported that the girl had been shopping with her older sister when she was attacked. She began to run, but the dog seized her hand. After the animal was grabbed and released her arm, it then targeted her shoulder and bit her. Another 20-year-old man was pursued across a garage forecourt before the dog attacked him, resulting in bite wounds to his forearm and cuts and bruises from being dragged. A second man injured by the dog also sought hospital treatment. A witness who intervened to help described his attempts to free the girl from the dog’s grasp, eventually succeeding. The girl was left with scarring on her arm and shoulder.