Four Afghans Jailed for Gang-Rape of Teenager in UK

Four Afghan nationals have been sentenced to prison for the gang-rape of a teenage girl in Bristol. Mehrab Safi, 21, Salman Habibkheil and Awal Ahmadzai, both 19, and a 17-year-old boy attacked the 17-year-old victim in November of last year.

The girl told a court that she had been plied with vodka and cigarettes before the assault. Safi, Ahmadzai, and Habibkheil fled the UK in December by hiding in the back of a lorry. They were later apprehended by French authorities in Calais and subsequently returned to the United Kingdom.

At Bristol Crown Court, Safi was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of human trafficking. He received a 15-year prison sentence. Habibkheil was sentenced to nine years in detention for one count of rape and one of human trafficking. Ahmadzai was sentenced to nine years in detention for one count of rape and one of sexual assault. The 17-year-old defendant, whose identity is protected due to his age, was sentenced to three years in detention for one count of rape.

The judge, Michael Cullum, noted that the victim had met Safi while Christmas shopping and that she appeared vulnerable. Safi had initially attempted to lure her and a friend to his property, but they declined and went home. However, Safi and the victim exchanged social media details, leading to an intense messaging exchange where Safi requested nude photos. Four days later, Safi and Habibkheil arranged for a taxi to bring the girl from her home in Somerset to Bristol. She was taken to Safi's house, where the men allegedly gave her alcohol to incapacitate her before the assault.

During the trial, jurors were shown a video of the victim's police interview, in which she stated her desire to go home and her feeling of not being safe. She reported being asleep during some of the assaults. The court heard that the girl's mother raised the alarm when she did not return home, and police traced her to a house in the St Werburghs area of Bristol. Officers arrested the minor defendant at the property, while the three older men fled as police arrived.

Addressing the defendants, the judge acknowledged that they had suffered trauma but stated that this did not excuse their actions. He noted that details of their past traumas related to fleeing Afghanistan and traveling to the UK were taken into account during sentencing.