Two Syrian men, Dilgash Adil, 32, and Diyar Mohammed Abdulsalm, 28, have been sentenced to 11 years in prison for the rape of an 18-year-old woman in Cheshire. The court heard that Adil, a refugee who arrived in the UK in 2020, plied the teenager with alcohol at a nightclub on December 21, 2025, until she was heavily intoxicated. Abdulsalm, an asylum seeker who arrived in May 2023, was then invited by Adil to also rape the woman at Abdulsalm’s accommodation in Winsford.
The victim reported experiencing blackouts during the assault and told her mother she did not know what had happened to her. Both men claimed the woman had consented to sex, but a jury convicted them of rape after a trial.
During the sentencing at Chester Crown Court, Judge Simon Berkson stated that the defendants took advantage of the victim's vulnerable state, rendering her unable to consent. He described her as being "in and out of consciousness" and targeted due to her vulnerability in the nightclub. The judge noted that Adil first raped the victim before inviting Abdulsalm to do the same.
Prosecutor Denise Fitzpatrick told the court that Adil and Abdulsalm met the victim, who was already drinking with friends, at a nightclub. After meeting Adil, she accepted more drinks and became noticeably more intoxicated. The defendants offered the victim and a male friend a ride home, but the male friend exited the vehicle before the woman, who remained in the car as it drove away with the passenger door still open.
In a victim impact statement, the woman described ongoing distress, including a loss of safety, panic attacks, sleep difficulties, and anxiety around strangers. Detective Chief Inspector Ian Murray of Cheshire Police commented that the officers ensured the victim was safeguarded and arrested the pair. He expressed hope that the sentences would provide some closure for the victim.
Adil, who was a shepherd in Syria before its civil war, was convicted of one count of rape. Abdulsalm was convicted of two counts of rape. Their immigration statuses were under assessment at the time of the offenses. The case follows a similar incident in Brighton where three asylum seekers were jailed for gang-raping a woman.
