Three on trial for abduction and race murder of Scots schoolboy

THREE men went on trial yesterday accused of the racially aggravated abduction and murder of a Glasgow schoolboy.
The case opened with jurors being warned they would be shown disturbing photographs of the semi-naked body of Kriss Donald, 15, who was allegedly set on fire at a riverside path.
Imran Shahid, 29, Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq, 27, and Zeeshan Shahid, 29, all deny the murder charge, and the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh is expected to last up to eight weeks.
The indictment alleges that the three accused were acting with two others, Daanish Zahid and Zahid Mohammed, on 15 March, 2004, when they seized Kriss at Kenmure Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow, and repeatedly punched and kicked him on the head and body and forced him into a car.
A screwdriver, a knife and a hammer were presented at him, it is alleged, and the knife was repeatedly twisted against his body, while a pretence was made that the abductors also had a gun.
According to the charge, Kriss was driven to Strathclyde Park, Motherwell, and then the three men, with Daanish Zahid, took him to areas of Dundee before returning to Glasgow and to an area at the Clyde walkway.
There, he was removed from the car and held by the arms, repeatedly struck on the body with a knife or knives and set on fire, and murdered.
The prosecution states that it will be proved that the offence was racially aggravated.
Imran Shahid has incriminated others in a special defence, which was read to the jury.
Early evidence set the scene for the six men and nine women of the jury.
The advocate-depute, Mark Stewart, QC, issued a warning before images of the crime scene were distributed to the jurors. "The photographs may be of a disturbing nature," he said.
William Galloway, a police scene of crime examiner, explained that the shots showed burn marks to a log, and a body.
He agreed that the top half of the body was naked and scarred, and there were only remnants of clothing to the midriff, and of footwear on the right foot. The body lay in a hollow which was wet and muddy.
The court heard that video footage had also been taken of the scene. It was played to the jury, but a screen serving the public benches was switched off. The footage showed tyre marks in the mud.
The trial will continue tomorrow.