A refugee who sexually assaulted two women in the Scottish town of Falkirk has been sentenced to four years in prison. Muhammad Sheikhi, 33, was found guilty by a jury in May of attacking the women in the early hours of a Sunday in November. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and issued a ten-year non-harassment order preventing contact with the victims.

Sheikhi, a Syrian barber who arrived in the UK on a small boat, denied any sexual contact. He had claimed to police, "Only animals would do that publicly." The incidents occurred on November 30 of the previous year, just hours after pro- and anti-immigration demonstrations were held in the town. The court heard that Sheikhi had been "roaming round" the town center for hours before the attacks. He was accommodated at the Cladhan Hotel, which had previously been the site of immigration-related protests.

His first victim, aged 22, was assaulted under a railway bridge as she walked home from a nightclub. The second victim, aged 21, was targeted in a skatepark as she walked to a friend's house from another nightclub. CCTV footage showed Sheikhi approaching a third woman, who was not accosted.

During the sentencing at Stirling Sheriff Court, Sheriff Keith O’Mahony told Sheikhi that the jury had found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt. "On my assessment these were not spontaneous or accidental acts. They were deliberate, predatory sexual assaults committed against strangers who had every right to walk home in safety," the sheriff stated. He added that Sheikhi "treated these women as though their autonomy, dignity, and bodily integrity counted for nothing."

Advocate Paul Keenan, representing Sheikhi, stated that his client had fled Syria seeking a safer life, having faced violence and the loss of family members. Sheikhi claimed to have been shot six times in Syria and to have been part of an anti-terror coalition. He also stated he was forced to work in construction at the age of five.

Both victims, who had attended court to hear the verdict and impact statements, declined to comment. The father of one victim expressed blame towards the UK Government and border security, stating, "If the Government had done its job correctly Sheikhi wouldn’t be in this county and this wouldn’t have happened."

Sheikhi was arrested in his hotel room later that morning. Through an Arabic interpreter, he told police he had been on the streets because "I am just a young man like everybody else who wants to have a good time."