Mohammed Saleem’s shocking death rocked the city and Muslim community in Birmingham and beyond
17:28, 24 Sep 2025Updated 17:50, 24 Sep 2025
Mohammed Saleem
The family of a Birmingham grandfather who was ambushed and murdered by a race hate terrorist have today bravely spoken of their ‘forgiveness’ for his killer.
Mohammed Saleem suffered catastrophic injuries when he was stabbed to death by Pavlo Lapshyn in 2013.
Now it has emerged that Lapshyn has died in prison.
READ MORE: Nazi terrorist who killed grandfather in Birmingham race hate attack found dead in cell
An investigation has been opened by the Prisons Ombudsman into the circumstances around his sudden death, aged 37, at Wakefield Prison.
The victim’s family have spoken of their continuing grief but there is nothing celebratory about their reaction to the news. Instead they speak only of forgiveness.
His family, led by daughter Maz Saleem, released a statement via news site Five Pillars. Ms Saleem said: “It has come to my attention via the victim liaison officer that Pavlo Lapshyn — the man convicted of murdering my father and committing acts of terror against our community — has been found dead in his prison cell.
“At present, I have not been given clear details surrounding the circumstances of his death: whether it resulted from other inmates, self-inflicted harm, or other causes remains unknown.”
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She said: “As a matter of respect — to my father’s memory, to justice, and to humanity — I wish to express that I have chosen, after many years, to forgive Lapshyn.
“This is not to condone what he did — his actions were gravely wrong, and he caused immense pain. But I believe holding onto hatred serves no-one. He was someone’s son, with elderly parents in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time.
“I also feel compelled to raise concern that when events like this occur, official communication is often delayed. The police or prison services do not usually release details immediately, and I understand why — there are protocols. But in the absence of transparency, rumours and misunderstanding flourish, and more harm is done.
“I ask the media to treat this matter with compassion, accuracy, and dignity. We must resist division, especially at times like this, and uphold our common humanity.
“I miss my father every day, not least because I am unwell — illness sharpens absence. What Pavlo Lapshyn stood for — hatred, extremism, and racism — is the opposite of everything our community believes in, and we must continue to stand for forgiveness, justice, and peace.
“May they both rest in peace. Surely we belong to God, and to Him we shall return.”
The prison service said today: “This was an abhorrent crime and our thoughts remain with Mr Saleem’s friends and family.
“Pavlo Lapshyn died on 23 September 2025 at HMP Wakefield. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”
Lapshyn, 37 when he died, was a Ukrainian neo-Nazi terrorist. A highly-educated engineering student with a history of far-right extremism, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years for murder and plotting explosions.
He had arrived in Birmingham five days before killing Mr Saleem. He had secured a temporary work placement at Delcam, a software company in Small Heath.
He stabbed Mr Saleem, a grandfather of 23 children. He had been walking home from evening prayers at his local mosque, using a walking stick due to poor health. The murder was described as a random, opportunistic act of racial hatred.
Thousands attended his funeral at Green Lane Mosque in a mark of the esteem he was held in and the horror over his death.
Lapshyn remained at large for three months, and in that time he planted and detonated three homemade bombs near mosques. An explosion occurred outside the Wolverhampton Central Mosque, shortly after Friday prayers, followed by explosions near the Ghausia Mosque in Walsall and the Bilal Mosque in Tipton.
READ MORE: Birmingham mosque wins top award and dedicates it to worshipper who was brutally murdered
West Midlands Police later linked the unsolved murder to the bombings through CCTV footage and forensics. Lapshyn was arrested on July 18, 2013, after attempting to detonate another device. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 40 years.
Court evidence revealed neo-Nazi materials on his computer, including manifestos and far-right propaganda. He expressed a desire to ignite a “race war” against Muslims.
In a subsequent Channel 5 documentary about the tragedy, Semir Said from Green Lane Mosque spoke of how the murder caused huge fear and confusion among locals, and occurred against a backdrop of rising Islamophobia.
Dr Imran Awan, professor of criminology at Birmingham City University, also contributed to the programme. “It was a pre-meditated planned attack. The climate at the time was very hostile and Islamophobic,” he noted.
“There was a real sense of sadness and fear…but also a sense of coming together.”
