MOHAMMED AMIR RIAZ
Year of call: 2003
Education: University of Wolverhampton, Law LLB Hons
Inns of Court School of Law, BVC
Cardiff Law School, Police Station Accreditation & Duty Solicitor
Accreditation
Memberships: Criminal Bar Association, Gray’s Inn
Languages: English, Punjabi, Urdu
Areas of expertise: Crime & Immigration
CRIME:
Overview:
Mr Riaz has a national defence practice offering clients highly
specialised and dedicated representation at all levels of the criminal
justice system. He has appeared in Courts throughout England and
Wales because of his ability to provide his lay and professional clients
with outstanding legal knowledge, clearly focused and timely advice,
and robust and effective advocacy. He offers unrivalled experience
and ability in the defence of a wide range of serious and complex
criminal cases.
His extensive experience of litigation covers a wide spectrum of cases;
including homicide, firearms, serious sexual offences, large scale
organised crime, kidnapping, armed robbery, human and drugs
trafficking, money laundering and high value serious fraud. He is
often instructed at the earliest stages of major investigations to give
clients the benefit of his advice and assistance during what is often a
critical stage in a criminal inquiry.
Mr Riaz has completed the Police Station Accreditation scheme
allowing him to regularly provide advice and assistance at the police
station stage. Furthermore, Mr Riaz is dual qualified as a Duty
Solicitor undertaking work on a consultancy basis within that scheme.
Approach: Mr Riaz is noted for his ability and judgment to quickly and reliably
identify the real and decisive issues in ‘very heavy’ cases. He excels in
offering clear, concise and tactically focused advice in the most
complex and voluminous cases.
Notable cases:
Over the years Amir has built up a vast body of knowledge in relation
to the use and interpretation of scientific evidence including DNA,
facial mapping, firearms residue and cell-site analysis as well as the
presentation and analysis of complex medical evidence.
Homicide / attempted murder
(a) Zaker Khan & 4 others – Murder / violent disorder at Warwick Crown Court.
(b) Akbar Khan – Murder at Birmingham Crown Court.
(c) Harold Hurst & 9 others – Murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to
commit GBH at Warwick Crown Court.
Serious fraud / dishonesty
(a) Darren Knight – Multimillion-pound VAT fraud conspiracy at Birmingham
Crown Court.
(b) Mahburbur Rehman – Obtaining leave to remain in the UK by Deception at
Snaresbrook Crown Court.
(c) Abdul Miquith & 9 others – Assisting in unlawful Immigration into the UK at
Newport Crown Court.
(d) Joy Otigbah & 3 others – Money laundering at Inner London Crown Court.
(e) Faizal Khan – Conspiracy to handle stolen goods at Southwark Crown Court.
(f) David Hanbury – Conspiracy to handle stolen goods at Birmingham Crown Court.
(g) Jonathan Dubidat – Fraud at Leamington Crown Court.
(h) Ritu Sidhpara & 2 others – Money laundering at Birmingham Crown Court.
Drugs / Firearms
(a) Kabir Khan & 3 others – Possession of firearms with intent to endanger life,
GBH, robbery at Birmingham Crown Court.
(b) Umair Khan – Importation of firearms, Trading in firearms at Birmingham Crown
Court.
(c) Balal Imtiaz – Kidnapping, False Imprisonment, Possession of firearm with intent,
and GBH at Birmingham Crown Court.
(d) Lewis Yesufu – Possession of firearm, armed robbery at Birmingham Crown
Court.
(e) Yvonne McQueen and one other – Importation of class A and B drugs at
Birmingham Crown Court.
(f) Thia Henry – Importation of class B drugs at Birmingham Crown Court.
(g) Sean Jarrett – Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Birmingham Crown Court.
(h) Curtis Grant & 7 others – Conspiracy to supply class A drugs at Stafford Crown
Court.
(i) Sarah Aldred & 9 others – Conspiracy to supply class A drugs at Birmingham
Crown Court.
(j) Kamil Pytlarz – Conspiracy to supply class A drugs at Birmingham Crown Court.
(k) Paul Walker – conspiracy to supply class A drugs, across county lines, at Warwick
Crown Court.
Sexual / Violent Crime
(a) Remegio Jonga – Rape at Nottingham Crown Court.
(b) Amandeep Singh – Conspiracy to rob at Stafford Crown Court.
(c) Makiyah Gayle – Robbery at Birmingham Crown Court.
(d) Waseem Akhtar – Violent disorder Birmingham Crown Court.
(e) Johnathan Zeimana & 4 others – Violent disorder at Manchester Crown Court.
IMMIGRATION:
Overview: Mr Riaz has diversified his practice in recent years having represented
Defendants in the Crown Court charged with offences relating to breaches of
the Immigration law. His legal research in those criminal cases lead him to
extending his practice to include Immigration Law.
Mr Riaz has a successful practice covering all areas of immigration, asylum,
human rights cases and regularly appears before the Asylum and Immigration
Tribunal. Mr Riaz is experienced in drafting Judicial Review and Permission
to Appeal grounds. Mr Riaz has a busy practice covering all aspects of
immigration for individuals and their family members. He has expertise on a
broad range of immigration applications and appeals including cases involving
family migration under Appendix FM, the EU settlement scheme and EEA
free movement, visitors, settlement and nationality. Mr Riaz also has
expertise in assisting clients with complex human rights and asylum claims.
Approach: Mr Riaz has vast experience in helping clients to find innovative legal
solutions to the most complex immigration situations. He has a deep
understanding of the interaction of domestic immigration law (statute, Rules,
guidance and case law), international legal instruments (EU law etc.), human
rights law (domestic, ECHR and international), and political and policy
considerations,
Mr Riaz is able to deploy creative arguments on behalf of clients, both in the
UK and abroad, who find themselves in difficult or novel situations. He often
advises such clients from the beginning of their legal journey, all the way
through to the conclusion of litigation. These clients benefit strategically from
engaging Mr Riaz at an early stage, as he can ensure that critical evidential
and legal markers are laid down at the very outset of the client’s contact with
the Home Office (in the event that the case proceeds to litigation).
