InfoMigrants

Two 17-year-old Afghan asylum seekers have been convicted of the rape of a 15-year-old girl in the UK. The sentences were pronounced at Warwick Crown Court on Monday. The two young men were convicted of 10 years and eight months and nine years and ten months respectively. In the case of the older boy, a judge recommended deportation.

Two young Afghan asylum seekers, who are now 17, have been convicted of the rape of a 15-year-old girl in the UK. At the time of the offense, one of the boys was still 16. The rape took place in the town of Leamington Spa on May 10 this year.

Both defendants have been named as Israr N. and Jan J. after the judge lifted a reporting restriction that normally applies to defendants under 18. However, it was felt, according to the judge, that keeping the restrictions in place could "lead to speculation which might see innocent people being targeted."

In court, the judge added that "a lack of information stokes public anger and leads to the unchecked spread of false information," reported Britain’s public broadcaster, the BBC.

Both young men were unaccompanied minors when they arrived in the UK in 2024 and had both been living in Leamington Spa prior to the offense. Their ages were determined by the authorities when they arrived in Britain.

'You have robbed the victim of her childhood'

Britain’s Judicial Press Office, which represents the country’s justice system and courts, sent the judge’s sentencing remarks to InfoMigrants. In it, the judge Sylvia de Bertodano said that the two youths had "robbed [the victim] V of her childhood, and that is something that no sentence of this court, and nothing I do today, can restore."

In a victim impact statement, V conveyed to the court how her life had been changed forever, as the judge summarized. "She is no longer a happy carefree teenager. She struggles to process what has happened. She feels sick at the thought of going to school. She feels pain at the distress this has caused her family."

File photo used for illustration: The judge accused the defendants of robbing the victim V of her childhood | Photo: picture-alliance

According to the victim’s mother, her "vibrant happy and confident daughter" has shrunk into "a child with anxiety so bad that she is often physically sick," remarked Justice de Bertodano.

During the trial, Israr N. and Jan J. were found to have deliberately targeted and then isolated her from her friends so that they could rape her. The judge said that the incident began at about 3 pm on Saturday, May 10, 2025 in a public garden behind the parish church in Leamington Spa. A group of young people, which included 15-year-old V and her friend W, as well as a number of other people of a similar age, had gathered.

'In a state of extreme distress'

Israr N. and Jan J. were "in the same gardens, and V and her friends got involved in conversations with you." The court heard that some of the young people bought two bottles of vodka. V and some of the others had drunk a lot of vodka and then the two Afghans came to sit with the group.

About five hours later, at around 8:30 pm, some of the group began to leave and Jan J. and Israr N. "walked off with V." V can’t remember much about what happened, she admits, but she filmed some of this walk on her phone. In the footage, which was played in court, she can clearly be heard "in a state of extreme distress. She was crying and shouting for help." The footage, notes the judge, is three minutes long and "highly distressing to watch."

V can be heard on the footage saying she clearly didn’t want to go with the two young Afghans and that she wanted to return to her friends. At one stage, a woman asked her if she was alright, but no one came to her aid.

A screenshot from some of the CCTV footage shows V walking in between the two asylum seekers on their way to where the crime took place | Source: X feed from local news portal Coventry live @live_coventry

According to the judge, Jan J "repeatedly told her to shush and at one stage put a hand over her mouth to silence her." It was at this point that Jan J "called Israr N. to join you" and at the end of the film, the two teenagers are walking on either side of V.

Other corroborating CCTV footage was also shown in court, which depicts the three figures walking side by side, with V in the middle.

Oral rape

The judge writes in the sentencing remarks that when the three arrived at a secluded spot, known as Newbold Comyn, "one of you pushed her down on her knees with sufficient force to rip her jeans and graze her knee. Then one by one you each pushed her head down and orally raped her. She remembers being terrified and wanting the ordeal to end quickly."

De Bertodano admits that it is not clear how that incident ended, but at some point the two young men left and there is further footage showing V in "extreme distress" as she stumbles and cries on the street. A man on his way home from work found her and took her to a police station, where she made her complaint.

Both Afghans were then arrested and initially denied the offense. Initial proceedings took place in a youth court, where both pleaded not guilty until the day of trial, when V attended to give evidence. At that point, both young men changed their pleas to guilty.

However, both tried to offer what they believed might be mitigating circumstances. Jan J. said he was "drunk" and Israr N. "pleaded on the basis that while he accepted the belief was unreasonable, he genuinely believed that V was consenting, and secondly that no violence was used."

This plea was not accepted by the prosecution and so a trial was then set up about this issue, with the judge finding against the defendant. Justice de Bertodano has issued a sentence based on the case as set out by the prosecution.

Migration journeys to the UK and PTSD?

De Bertodano acknowledges that both defendants say they left Afghanistan after saying that threats had been made against them and their families. In the case of Jan J. de Bertodano says that he spent nine months traveling to the UK, often on foot. The judge says she "accepts that this amounts to a traumatic set of experiences for a young person." She adds "I am told that it is possible that you are suffering from PTSD. I understand that your situation leads to anxiety and distress," and that he may have felt "alienated given your status as an asylum seeker."

File photo used as illustration: Many Afghan asylum seekers arrive in the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats. In the case of the two defendants, the judge acknowledged that their long journeys to the UK may have resulted in "traumatic experiences" | Photo: picture alliance

The judge also comments that he "struggles to express empathy and there are concerns about your understanding of vocabulary and cognitive functioning." De Bertodano also acknowledges that Jan J. is "navigating unfamiliar cultural norms," and that understanding around issues of consent "is described as inconsistent." Jan J’s educational background is classified as "unclear and that your insight may be reduced as a result."

The remarks made about Israr N. are similar. According to the judge’s sentencing remarks, Israr N. arrived in the UK in November 2024, having fled the Taliban. He too had "limited formal education." His father is believed to have been killed by the Taliban, and his mother "suffers with mental health difficulties."

Israr N.'s journey too is reported to have taken nine months "and was arduous and traumatic." Judge de Bertodano writes that Israr N.’s childhood experiences "have had a significant effect on your cognitive development."

Judge satisfied defendants 'knew what they were doing'

Despite acknowledging all this and the cultural differences, the judge said that she does not accept that either teenager didn’t understand the concept of consent. She says in this case it was "absolutely clear to both of you that you were taking a child away from her friends, in the face of her sustained and vigorous protests, to somewhere you could not be observed, in order to commit this offense."

De Bertodano adds that she is "satisfied that you both knew perfectly well that what you were doing was criminal and wrong." She adds that it is "not right" that the two tried to claim that because of their different backgrounds, the offense would seem less serious. The judge adds, "the huge majority of people who come here to seek asylum do so with every intention of respecting the laws of this country. They behave with restraint and dignity even in the most difficult of circumstances."

The judge said that a crime like this, committed by two asylum seekers, has "significantly contribute[d] to public censure not just of yourselves but of your own communities, and asylum seekers in general. You have betrayed the interests of those like you who come here fleeing harm and seeking safety, and for that you should feel a deep and lasting sense of shame."

Sentencing considerations and possible deportation

On consideration of all these factors and the sentencing guidelines, the two defendants received a 10 percent reduction in their sentence because they both pleaded guilty on the day of trial and because of their ages at the time of offense.

They have both been placed on the sex offenders registry "for the remainder of their lives" and a restraining order has been imposed on both of them indefinitely, preventing them from going to any place at which they know or believe that V might live, study or work. Any breach of this order will carry a further prison sentence.

File photo used as illustration: It will be up to British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to decide whether these asylum seekers will ultimately be deported, and when | Photo: Reuters

Jan J. received ten years and eight months of detention and Israr N. received nine years and ten months in prison.

The judge concluded by saying that they should both spend "up to two thirds of this sentence in detention," before potentially being released on licence. However, Jan J. has already been issued with a deportation order, and the judge agreed and "made a recommendation for deportation."

Because of Israr N.’s age at the time of the offense, the judge does not have the power to make a similar recommendation of deportation. However, she has invited the Home Secretary "to be notified of this matter for her consideration."

A Judiciary source told InfoMigrants, in answer to questions about the actual timing of any deportation and how long into the sentencing it might be, that it would be a matter for the UK Home Office and any deportation order. Also, whether or not the defendant was then deported to serve the remainder of their sentence in their home country would be "down to the individual case." This, they explained, would be detailed in the deportation order, which would ultimately come from an immigration tribunal or be a matter for the Home Office directly.

InfoMigrants approached both the Home Office and the British Ministry of Justice for comment on this case, but was told by the Home Office that the Ministry of Justice would be leading briefings in this instance. The Ministry of Justice said they had no comment because they do not speak about individual cases.

Deportations to Afghanistan?

In April this year, Hyphen Online, a news portal about Muslim life in the UK and Europe, reportedly made a freedom of information request to the Home Office, asking whether they had deported Afghans from the UK since the Taliban took over. According to Hyphen Online, the Home Office "deported eight Afghans since the Taliban takeover," despite having no official diplomatic relations with the Taliban.

"The Home Office," reported Hyphen Online, "would not say whether it was standard practise to deport foreign national offenders to countries that the UK does not have diplomatic relations with, whether it had engaged in discussions with the Taliban government over the return of foreign national offenders, and how the UK could ensure that foreign national offenders returned to Afghanistan would not be at risk of harm."

They added that a Home Office spokesperson told them: "Despite any barriers we face, we are resolute in our commitment to keep our communities safe and deport those who abuse our hospitality."

In unrelated developments, another man, 28 years old and identified by police as an Afghan national, has been charged with the rape of two teenage girls in Bolton, northwest of Manchester. He was arrested by Manchester Police in the early hours of Sunday following a report of rape, reported the BBC on Tuesday (December 9).