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Park West Place |
Police: ‘We know who killed Atef’
Detectives issue appeal in their hunt for man caught on CCTV attacking Tunisian national
POLICE say they know the identity of the killer of Atef Jablaoui, the promising young footballer who died after being punched in the head just a block away from Tony Blair’s house off Edgware Road earlier this month.
The suspect was a friend of Mr Jablaoui, 27, and also a Tunisian, who is shown on CCTV fleeing from the scene on the corner of Park West Place and Kendel Street after the confrontation in the early hours of Friday March 6.
Detective Inspector Andy Perrott believes the suspect may have fled the country, possibly to France.
He said: “We have a suspect and we know who he is. It’s one man, who was an acquaintance of Mr Jablaoui.
“While he lived in Harrow, we know he had connections in the area, and some of his friends lived in Park West Mansions. There were witnesses at the scene and the CCTV footage is pretty good.
“He was only punched once in the head. It’s highly unlikely the man meant to kill him. We understand they were having a fairly trivial argument about what he was doing with his life. It looks like a complete tragedy.
“We’ve spoken to the family and the Tunisian community up in Harrow, and one of the things we’re exploring is that he fled the country.”
Mr Jablaoui was knocked unconscious and rushed to hospital – he died three days later. Early reports suggested Mr Jablaoui was involved in a brawl with more than one man, which has now been ruled out by police.
It is understood Mr Jablaoui had rented a room in Harrow since 2005, but was living in the UK illegally, working a number of menial jobs in the restaurant business.
Mr Jablaoui came from a poor family in a town called El Ala, in the northern part of Tunisia. He got an English degree at university before moving to the UK. He was invited to try out for the Tunisian national football team in 2001.
His father and brother have made appeals through the Tunisian media to try and catch Mr Jablaoui’s killers and want the body repatriated to his native country.
Anyone with any information should contact DI Andy Perrott on 020 8785 8945. |
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