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7h ago

US Woman Jailed for 30 Years Over Failed Birmingham Assassination Plot

The case followed a years-long international hunt that ended with her extradition from Armenia.

Undated handout photo issued by West Midlands Police of Aimee Betro. The would-be assassin who flew to the UK only for her gun to jam during an assassination attempt while she was disguised in a niqab will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday. Betro, 45, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol and fraudulently evading the prohibition on importing ammunition after a three-week trial which ended last week. Issue date: Thursday August 21, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: West Midlands Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
A CCTV image of Betro following the shooting.

Overview

  • Aimee Betro, 45, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court after a jury conviction for conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol and evading a ban on importing ammunition.
  • Judge Simon Drew KC said she played a leading role as the gunwoman and ordered she serve two-thirds of the 30-year term before eligibility for release.
  • CCTV and forensic evidence showed Betro tried to shoot Sikander Ali at point-blank range on September 7, 2019, when the gun jammed, before returning hours later to fire three shots into his empty home.
  • Prosecutors tied the plot to a revenge feud linked to a 2018 boutique brawl, noting co-conspirators Mohammed Nabil Nazir and Mohammed Aslam were jailed in 2024.
  • Betro denied involvement at trial, claiming mistaken identity and saying her UK trip was for her 40th birthday, but investigators also cited travel records, hotel logs and a glove with her DNA.