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Two teenage asylum seekers from Afghanistan have been handed prison sentences for the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Leamington Spa. Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal, both aged 17, pleaded guilty to the attack that occurred on May 10, as confirmed during an October hearing. At the sentencing in Warwick Crown Court, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano lifted reporting restrictions on the defendants’ identities after receiving requests from media organizations including the BBC.
Judge de Bertodano ordered Jahanzeb to serve a youth detention sentence of 10 years and eight months, with deportation papers having already been issued. Niazal received a nine-year and 10-month sentence, with the judge inviting the government to consider deporting him as well. Both young men will initially serve time in a Young Offenders’ Institution before being transferred to adult prisons. They have also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and subject to indefinite restraining orders.
The victim’s impact statement was read out in court, where she described the profound emotional toll the assault has taken on her life. She said, “The day I was raped changed me as a person. Now every time I go out I don’t feel safe.” She also spoke about the pain of seeing her family suffering, adding, “Watching [other family members] feeling crushed as they believe they should have been there or done something is particularly painful for me, even though I know they couldn’t have done anything to stop what happened.” She expressed the difficulty of being labeled a victim, stating, “I hate the fact that I am now looked at as a victim, even though that’s exactly what I am.”
The court heard that both defendants were unaccompanied child asylum seekers. Jahanzeb arrived in the UK in January, and an age assessment confirmed he was 17. Niazal came to the country in the previous November and was initially placed in Kent before moving into local authority care in Warwickshire. Prosecutor Shawn Williams described the attack as “horrific,” explaining how the offenders targeted the victim after she became separated from her friends. Video evidence showed Jahanzeb using Pashto to call Niazal over, and mobile phone footage obtained by police captured the distressing assault, including the victim’s screams for help and Jahanzeb covering her mouth. The pair took the victim to a secluded area in a park where the attack took place, and she was later found and assisted by a member of the public who urged her to contact the police
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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