Amir Moledina

Amir Moledina and Kassam Moledina died in the Handsworth Riots.

They were found in the burned-out remains of the Lozells Road sub-post office where they had worked.

Two men were charged with their murders, but the charges were later reduced to manslaughter and they were cleared. However, they pleaded guilty to arson.

Amir Moledina and Kassam Moledina had been brothers.

It was reported that they died from fume inhalation and that there were no obvious signs that they had been attacked with weapons.

It was reported that there had been speculation that they had been attacked or ill-treated by a mob of West Indian youths before their deaths.

The police said:

The Handsworth Riots took place between 9 and 11 September 1985. They started following the arrest of a man near the Acapulco Cafe in Lozells Road and a police raid on the Villa Cross public house. The riots resulted in about 45 shops being looted and burnt and along with the deaths of Amir Moledina and Kassam Moledina, two other people were said to be unaccounted for and 35 other people injured.

It was reported that the riots had been set up by drug dealers in order to counter a big crackdown on the pushers there. A Chief Constable said that he believed that a drive against Birmingham's heroin and cocaine pushers had made them 'react in anger'. However, he added that the purge against the evil dealers would go on.

The Handsworth Riots were noted for being the first of a series of similar riots across the country during the autumn of 1985, including the Broadwater Farm Riot and the Brixton Riots in which there were also murders that are today unsolved.