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Judge grants permission for full judicial review into Yousef Makki inquest
There’s still a long way to go - but it’s a small step in the right direction."
The Manc -
18th May 2022 
A judge has today granted permission for a full judicial review into the inquest of Manchester schoolboy Yousef Makki.
After Senior Coroner Alison Mutch said she could not safely conclude whether the death was either unlawful or accidental, the family of the 17-year-old Manchester Grammar School pupil called for a review back in November to overturn the narrative conclusion.
Yousef Makki was tragically stabbed to death by Joshua Molnar with a flick knife – which the coroner said was purchased online with ease “during break time at school” – during a row they had in the Hale Barns area of Trafford back on the evening of 2 March 2019.
Molnar claimed self-defence and was cleared by a jury at Manchester Crown Court of murder and manslaughter, with the coroner’s narrative conclusion also ruling out both unlawful killing and accidental death.
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He was jailed for 16 months for the possession of a knife in a public place and perverting the course of justice by lying to police at the scene.
Makki’s family described the Coroner’s conclusion as “disgusting”.
An application was thus made to High Court by a QC acting for Yousef’s father, Ghaleb Makki, and the review was granted today (18 May) at the Manchester Civil Justice Centre.
At the hearing in the High Court today, Matthew Stanbury, representing the Makki family, claimed the coroner’s ruling was “inevitable” due to the failure to analyse and “grapple” with central issues in the case, and said the issues included Molnar’s credibility and “numerous lies”, his state of mind at the time of the stabbing, the question of who was the first to take out a knife, and pathological evidence.
Read more: Yousef Makki’s family launch foundation in his name three years after his death
“Today is a significant step forward and we are optimistic about getting a fresh inquest,” Stanbury said after the judicial review was granted.
“There’s still a long way to go, but it’s a small step in the right direction,” Yousef’s father added.
Featured Image – Greater Manchester Police
