A British social media influencer convicted of murdering her mother’s young boyfriend and his friend during a high-speed car chase has had her prison sentence reduced after a successful appeal.
In September 2023, 25-year-old Mahek Bukhari was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 31 years and eight months for her role in the deaths of Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin and Saqib Hussain, both 21. The fatal crash occurred on a highway in February 2022, after a chase that ended when the victims’ car was forced off the road and erupted in flames, killing both men.
A jury later convicted four defendants — including Bukhari and her mother, Ansreen Bukhari — of murder. Three others were found guilty of manslaughter, while an eighth was acquitted. Ansreen received a minimum prison term of 26 years and nine months.
Bukhari, once popular on TikTok and Instagram, appealed her sentence, arguing through her legal team that it was “wholly disproportionate.” On Oct. 24, Lord Justice Warby and two other judges agreed, ruling the original term “manifestly excessive” and reducing it to 26 years and 285 days.
“The judge did not make enough allowance for the fact that this appellant was an immature 22-year-old at the time of these offenses,” Warby stated in court, according to the ruling.
The Deadly Chain of Events
The events that led to the murders began after Mahek’s mother tried to end her affair with Saqib Hussain. According to court documents, Hussain refused to accept the breakup and demanded the return of £3,000 he claimed to have spent on her. He also possessed sexually explicit photos and videos of her and allegedly threatened to release them.
The judgment notes that these threats prompted Mahek Bukhari to plot retaliation. In a message sent on Jan. 4, 2022, she wrote: “I’ll soon get him jumped by guys and he won’t know what day it is.”
On the night of Feb. 11, 2022, Hussain and his friend Ijazuddin were lured to a parking lot in Leicester under the pretense that Hussain would get his money back. Instead, they were ambushed by Bukhari, her mother, and other defendants who arrived in two cars — an Audi TT and a Seat Leon — with some occupants wearing balaclavas.
Ijazuddin, who had simply agreed to drive his friend, fled the scene after sensing danger. As they sped along the A46 highway, Hussain called emergency services, frantically reporting that masked men were chasing them and trying to ram their car off the road.
“There’s guys following me, they’ve got balaclavas on and they’re trying to kill me… they’ve hit into the back of the car,” Hussain said in the call. “Please, I’m begging you, I’m gonna die.”
Moments later, the call abruptly ended. The victims’ vehicle crossed the central barrier, collided with a tree, and exploded. Both men died instantly from multiple impact injuries.
Prosecutors argued that the Audi and the Leon coordinated their pursuit to deliberately force the victims off the road, intending to cause at least serious harm. The court accepted that all defendants had agreed to participate in the attack.
