CAMPAIGNERS have urged the Crown Office to reopen the "racist" murder of a Somali student in Scotland 23 years ago under recently introduced double jeopardy legislation

Axmed Abuukar Sheekh, 28, was stabbed to death outside a pub after he and his cousin Abdirizak Yusuf had been racially abused by a group of football casuals in the Cowgate, Edinburgh, in January 1989.

Mr Sheekh told Ms Yusuf to run from the group and dragged himself to a phone box where he collapsed, dying later in the city's Royal Infirmary.

Three men were arrested but only two were brought to trial. At the eight-day hearing, all charges were dropped against one man while the other, Terence Reilly, was found guilty of possessing a knife and of assault but was acquitted of murder.

Last week's jailing of Gary Dobson and David Norris for the 1993 murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in London led to calls for the reopening of the investigation into the killing of Asian waiter Surjit Singh Chhokar.

Mr Chhokar was stabbed to death at his home in Overtown, North Lanarkshire, in November 1998. Ronnie Coulter was cleared at his first trial for the murder in 1998, after he blamed his nephew, Andrew Coulter and David Montgomery the following year. In 2000, Andrew Coulter and Montgomery were acquitted of murder at a trial after claiming Ronnie Coulter was responsible.

Now Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland is being urged to re-examine the Sheekh case after changes to double jeopardy legislation last year gave renewed hope to his supporters.

Joan Weir, of the Axmed Sheekh Commemorative Group, said his murder and the circumstances surrounding it should not be forgotten because they "illustrated a lot of failings" by the police and justice system.

She said: "There was clear racist evidence. We were very disappointed at the time about the quality of the prosecution while the defendants had a brilliant QC."

Ms Weir, who was a mentor to Mr Sheekh at Stevenson College, Edinburgh, and who tends his grave, said that, if the Crown was going to reopen an inquiry into Mr Chhokar's killing, it should be extended to include Mr Sheekh's death.

She said it was not a case of his family, who are in Somalia, wanting the case to be fought again. The issue was whether Scottish justice had moved on when dealing with racist crime and that "some kind of good" had come out of the tragedy.

Edinburgh Southern MSP Jim Eadie said Ms Weir had "done us a great service by reminding us of this tragic case where justice was clearly not done".

He added: "On the face of it, there are parallels with the Stephen Lawrence trial and, given the seriousness and significance of this case, I have written to the Solicitor-General asking her to look at whether it could be included in the review being conducted into which cases may be prosecuted under the new act.

"That is the very least we owe to Mr Sheekh and his family."

Ms Weir said the advances in DNA techniques over the past two decades could also be an important factor in any inquiry.

She said: "I believe there remains a responsibility on those of us, black and white, in Scotland who were involved at the time to try to ensure this case is included in any new review."

A Crown Office spokesman said: "The Lord Advocate has asked the Solicitor General to review cases that may be able to be prosecuted anew under the new Double Jeopardy Act. It is too early to speculate on how any particular case will be dealt with as a result. We can confirm that we have received a letter today from Jim Eadie MSP relating to the death of Axmed Abuukar Sheekh in January 1989 and will respond to him in due course."