The son of a curry house owner who was stabbed to death almost 40 years ago has welcomed the killer’s 16 year jail sentence.
Riasat Khan stabbed 41-year-old Kazi Ahmad seven times on the neck and chest at a flat in Rosemount Viaduct in Aberdeen on October 13, 1978.
He then fled the country for Pakistan, returning to the UK in the early 1990s.
Khan, now 63, was arrested on a warrant as he tried to board a flight at Birmingham airport in May last year.
And last month, he was convicted of murder following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Now his son, who was born just 11 days after his father’s murder, has said his family are relieved Khan is now likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
He said: “Sixteen years is a long time, I’m glad he has to serve that minimum time.
“At the end of the day the man who brutally murdered my father has been put away.
“It’s a big relief for us, it’s been a long time coming but we are glad justice has been done.
“I would just like to thank the police, the prosecutors and everyone who gave evidence – both the people who were involved at the time and those who have worked on the case today.”
Sentencing Khan at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, judge Lord Beckett said: “Justice has been delayed but justice has not been denied.
“The excellent work done by police officers, forensic scientists and pathologists in 1978 stood the test of time leading to your conviction for murder in 2017.
“Had you been arrested in 1978 you would no doubt have been convicted of murder with the sentence of life imprisonment and may well have been released by now.
“Instead your actions have allowed you to spend the best years of your adult life in freedom.”
The trial heard how Khan was working as a chef in the Raj Dulal curry house in Dee Street when he attacked Mr Ahmad, who was his boss, at the flat they shared.
He stabbed Mr Ahmad on the neck and body before escaping on a train to Edinburgh, where he spent time waging large amounts of money in a betting shop.
Khan, who has previous convictions for dishonesty, then fled Britain and spent time in Greece before travelling to Pakistan.
He later returned to Britain in the early 90s, settling in Cardiff.
It was only when Khan passed through the airport in 2016 that he was arrested, because a police officer discovered a warrant issued by Scottish colleagues in the days following Mr Ahmad’s death.
Khan had lodged a special defence of self defence at the trial.
