Regional news titles have won a seven-month fight to name a teenage killer who raped and murdered a schoolgirl.

Black Country Live has named Ayman Aziz for the first time as the killer of 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova, pictured, in West Park, Wolverhampton.

Aziz, 17, had been protected an order made under Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act, although Black Country Live had appealed for this to be lifted following his conviction in December.

A similar application was also made by John Scott, a reporter at Wolverhampton-based daily the Express & Star, which has now also named Aziz.

John told HTFP: “Details of the West Park murder case were among some of the most lurid I have heard during many years of court reporting.

“I therefore applied to have reporting restrictions removed so that Ayman Aziz, the person responsible for this horrifying crime could not hide under the blanket of anonymity. It was important that the public should know more about somebody capable of committing such a crime.

“He was also old enough to take responsibility for his actions. He was 16 when he raped and murdered 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova and 17 – therefore just months away from the 18th birthday that would have automatically removed this restriction – by the time he was sentenced.

“There are clear guides as to when it is appropriate for guilty defendants under the age of 18 to be named in a case and, in my opinion, it would have been a miscarriage of justice if this had not been one of them.”

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker announced he was in favour of lifting restrictions following a hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court in February, at which Aziz was sentenced to life in prison.

However his identity was protected for a further five working days as the judge gave Aziz’s barrister, Adam Kane QC, the opportunity to appeal the decision – but subsequently no appeal was lodged.

Black Country Live, whose content appears on Reach plc’s Birmingham Live website but operates from its own district office in Willenhall, has since asked daily for an update on the order.

It was finally given the green light to publish Aziz’s identity yesterday.

Graeme Brown, publisher of Black Country Live, told HTFP: “This was the first big court case my new team dealt with and it turned out to be one that touched us all.

“Viktorija had her whole life ahead of her and nature of the murder was so shocking that it will live long in the memory.

“So of course our thoughts are with her family today, but I must say I am bursting with pride that my team, and principally Kelly Ashmore, who heads up our coverage of Wolverhampton Crown Court, played their part in making sure justice was served in public, as it always should be.”