THE family of a man shot dead in his taxi in a cold-blooded execution have launched an internet appeal for help to crack the unsolved case.
Ethsham Ul-Haq Ghafoor was shot in the body and the head as he sat in his cab at 4.30am in Gedling on November 22, 1994.
The 26-year-old was killed in the car park at Lambley Lane playing fields with what police believe was a semi-automatic handgun.
Despite numerous appeals by police and family members over the years, his murderer has never been caught.
Relatives have now taken to Facebook, launching the page Justice for Ethsham Ghafoor and asking people to come forward with information.
One post by a family member this morning on the 19th anniversary of the killing read:
"Trace back the steps to the day your journey ended and ours began. This is the very moment we knew you were no more.
"The knock on the door,the voices in the lounge, the moment my world came crashing down.
"My son is no more, taken by the bullet. These moments always rewind, these moments always replay, these emotions always bring tears for my beautiful and precious loss. My questions still remain - who and why?"
Mr Ghafoor, known to his friends and family as Shami, was a popular taxi driver who lived in Sherwood.
More than 1,000 mourners turned out for his funeral at the Islamic Centre in Curzon Street.
Last year the family discovered Mr Ghafoor was buried without his brain, which was discovered during an audit at the Queen's Medical Centre.
They held a second funeral to bury the brain in November, at which his mother Walayat Begum read a statement saying she believed Notts Police had failed to properly investigate her son's murder.
The force have pledged to continue to periodically review the case in the search for a breakthrough.
Detective Chief Inspector Tony Heydon, of Notts Police, said: "Shami was part of a very close-knit family, and his death has left each and every one of them devastated over the years.
"We are working closely with the family and supporting their public appeal which is using social media.
"Since 1994, the ways people provide information or communicate has changed significantly, and it may be that there are people out there who know who is responsible for Shami's murder but have never come forward before.
"Now is the time to put Shami's family first and help them find closure. Their Facebook group shows just how desperate for justice they are, and if you know anything, you could help them."
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the incident room on 0115 8446912 or ring Crimestoppers, which is free and anonymous, 0800 555 111.
The family's Facebook page can be viewed at http://www.facebook.com/justiceforEthshamShamiGhafoor
