A failed asylum seeker, Karam Majdi, 27, has lost his bid to avoid deportation from Britain after a judge ruled he is not bisexual and remains a danger to the public. Majdi, who was jailed for raping a 14-year-old schoolgirl, had claimed in a last-ditch appeal that he could not be sent back to Egypt because he is bisexual and would face persecution.
Judge R Abdar dismissed the appeal, stating, "I am satisfied that the Appellant has failed to rebut the presumption of the Appellant posing a danger to the community. I am not satisfied that the Appellant is bisexual." The immigration tribunal also rejected Majdi's claim to be Syrian, finding his account of relationships with men to be inconsistent and unsupported by evidence.
Majdi, who arrived late to his hearing, faces deportation after serving half of his seven-year sentence for the sex attack on the girl he met online in 2017. He had claimed to be an unaccompanied child from Syria when he arrived in the UK by small boat in 2016. The attack, described by the judge as "opportunistic" and "vile," left the victim with severe bruising.
During his imprisonment, Majdi was deemed a "high risk to children." He represented himself at the deportation tribunal, where the Home Office argued his claim of bisexuality, made in 2021, was a fabrication for his asylum claim. Evidence presented suggested his attractions were only towards women, with no support for his attraction to men.
A previous review of Majdi's sexuality by the government had accepted his claim, a decision the Home Office later admitted was a mistake based on a professional opinion. Judge Abdar allowed the Secretary of State to withdraw this concession.
Majdi claimed to have had relationships with two men but could not provide evidence, stating that photos and texts were lost when he misplaced his phone's SIM card. The tribunal also heard that Majdi had been convicted of further offenses since his release from prison, including cocaine possession and driving offenses, and faced charges related to cannabis possession.
Regarding his claim of being Syrian, Majdi asserted he obtained his identity document from a man at a mosque. However, the Home Office questioned the document's authenticity and argued that even if genuine, Syria is no longer under the control of Islamic State or former President Bashar al-Assad, and thus not a threat to returning citizens.
Majdi was initially granted anonymity for the reporting of his appeal, but this was overturned after the Home Office argued that reporting his name was in the public interest and crucial for open justice. Previous news articles had already named him and detailed his criminal background.
A Home Office spokesperson stated, "We will do everything in our power to deport this dangerous criminal and will continue to resist all appeals against his deportation." The spokesperson added that 11,733 foreign criminals, including murderers and rapists, have been removed since the last election, a 41% increase compared to the previous government's last two years.