Student Skander Rehman was murdered in a "planned execution" because his killer wrongly believed his victim had had an affair with his wife, a court heard.

Feroz Khan shot 20-year-old Skander in the back of the head at point-blank range to "satisfy his jealous and mistaken pride", Leeds Crown Court was told yesterday.

Prosecutor Rodney Jameson QC told a murder trial jury that Khan's partner, Ashlea Ryan, had had another sexual partner while separated from him, but it was not Skander Rehman.

Mr Jameson said Skander was a decent young man who was killed for "nothing more than to satisfy Feroz Khan's jealous and mistaken pride".

The jury was told that Khan, 20, formerly of Cumberland Road, Lidget Green, had pleaded guilty to the murder of the Bradford University IT management student. But Toqueer Ahmed, 21, who denies the murder, lured Mr Rehman to a meeting in a Bradford park where he was gunned down by Mr Khan.

Ahmed later told police that he thought Khan was going to slap Skander up a bit' and did not know he planned to shoot him.

But Mr Jameson said the prosecution would present evidence to make the jury absolutely certain that Ahmed knew full well Khan was going to shoot his victim.

He said that on the morning of February 26 this year Ahmed made phone arrangements to meet Skander, who was a friend and fellow university student, at Brackenhill Park, Great Horton. Skander was met by Ahmed and Khan and the three walked into the park.

"In a secluded spot Feroz Khan pulled out a gun and shot Skander Rehman from virtually point-blank range in the back of the head. This defendant and Feroz Khan then fled from the park together, leaving Rehman still alive but mortally wounded," said Mr Jameson.

He went on: "The prosecution claimed this was a planned execution in which both men played their part. According to Toqueer Ahmed the motive for the shooting appeared to have been Feroz Khan's belief that Skander Rehman had had an affair with his wife from whom he had been separated.

"Feroz Khan was to tell Ashlea Ryan after the murder I did it for you'. Even if Khan's belief had been right that would not be an excuse for, nor a defence to, murder.

"Tragically, however, his belief that Skander Rehman had had an affair with Ashlea Ryan was quite untrue."

Mr Jameson said Khan had met Ashlea in 2003 and the following year they had wed in an informal Islamic marriage ceremony not recognised in law. They had a daughter and lived together for two years but separated in September last year.

Shortly after Christmas last year she met Mr Rehman and his friend, Mohammed Haroon Zulqarnan, known as Harry.

Ashlea, 19, had asked Skander for a relationship but he knew Feroz Khan and declined. She then had a short fling with Harry.

In February this year Khan and Ashlea got back together but he found out about her relationship with Harry, which she admitted.

Mr Jameson said: "The evidence indicates Harry, too, may have been a target for Feroz Khan's vengeance."

He said Ahmed tried to set up a meeting with Harry on a false pretext three days before the shooting of Skander but Harry did not go to the meeting.

"It may be he had a lucky escape," said Mr Jameson.

The court heard Skander was friends with both Khan and Ahmed, who were all students, and Ahmed had described him as his best mate.

Mr Jameson said there was evidence that the relationship between Ahmed and Khan was close and both had been seen by witnesses in possession of a button gun in the weeks leading up to the murder. Khan had also been seen with what was believed to be the murder weapon, a 9mm silver self-loading pistol with a black handle. The Czech-made gun had been designed to fire blank cartridges but had been converted to fire live ammunition.

Home Office Pathologist Professor Christopher Milroy, who carried out the post mortem examination, found soot around the entrance wound at the back of Skander's head which showed the barrel of the gun had been either in contact or almost in contact with the back of his head when he was shot.

Mr Jameson said there had been a number of phone calls between Khan and Ahmed on the day of the shooting, and following the killing Ahmed had made two "dummy" calls to Skander's mobile leaving voice messages to pretend that he did not know about what had happened.

Later that evening Skander's girlfriend, Shabina Kauser, phoned Ahmed on his mobile, after hearing her boyfriend had been shot, to ask if he knew what had happened but he said he knew nothing about it.

He was arrested two days later after friends of Skander became suspicious and alerted police when Ahmed refused to go to hospital to see him. Skander died less than 48 hours after the shooting when his life support machine was switched off.

Ahmed admitted to police he had been at the park and had caused Skander to go there but said he believed Khan was just going to slap up Skander.

After the murder he said he confronted Khan who told him: "That's the difference between you and me. If someone messed about with your wife that's what I'm going to do. We just hope that he dies."

Ahmed told police Khan had told Skander he had lost some skunk cannabis and asked him to help find it in the park. But Mr Jameson said there was no reason to believe Skander had any connection with drugs.

Mr Jameson added: "The evidence is not largely in dispute. We are not looking at what happened, but what was going on in this man's mind."

Professor Milroy told the court the bullet had remained inside the victim's head causing a non-survivable injury. Death was due to the gunshot wound which would have made Skander immediately unconscious and incapacitated.

Ahmed, of Aberdeen Place, Lidget Green, pleads not guilty to murder. The trial continues. Khan will be sentenced later after reports.

By Steve Wright