Shaun Woodburn's dad says son's killer must remain in jail

The father of Shaun Woodburn has pleaded with the parole board not to release his son's killer from prison.
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Mohammed Ibnomer could be freed in January if an early release hearing goes in his favour this week.

But Kevin Woodburn has hit out at the “pathetic situation” that could see the killer walk free just two years after Shaun, 30, died outside Gladstone’s pub in Leith.

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The father-of-one passed away after being attacked by Ibnomer, then 16, in the early hours of January 1 last year.

Shaun Woodburn was killed outside a pub in Edinburgh on Hogmanay 2017, he was aged just 30.Shaun Woodburn was killed outside a pub in Edinburgh on Hogmanay 2017, he was aged just 30.
Shaun Woodburn was killed outside a pub in Edinburgh on Hogmanay 2017, he was aged just 30.

In November 2017, Ibnomer was sentenced to just four years in prison, backdated to include the period he spent on remand.

The killer is now eligible to apply for parole and a hearing is scheduled for this week, the Daily Record reported.

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Shaun Woodburn killer jailed for four years

Kevin, who met the Parole Board last week, said: “Ibnomer is entitled to a hearing not even two years since he took my son’s life.

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“If my son’s killer is released, he has to visit a parole officer once a week to see how he is getting along – it’s just laughable.

“A sentence should be served in full, not just half.

“In this case, our family can only hope that the Parole Board have the sense to see that this is just wrong.”

Kevin added: “I do not blame those in the Parole Board. They can only work within the confines of the law in our country.

“The blame for this pathetic situation lies firmly in three places.

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“Firstly, there’s the judge Lady Stacey, who passed such a pathetic sentence on Ibnomer for taking

my son’s life.

“Secondly, the Lord Advocate and the Crown failed to appeal against such a low sentence.

“Thirdly, there are our esteemed law makers – those nameless, faceless people who decide the fate of us all, who hide behind the cloak of anonymity and pass judgment on our lives and have us endure intolerable pain.”

The Woodburn family have been campaigning for changes to the justice system and have successfully won changes to protocols surrounding multiple post mortems on victims of crime.