A rapist who dodged deportation from the UK in October after plane passengers, unaware of his crime, helped him stay on in the country is now seeking to be allowed to remain in Britain because of a “deterioration” in his mental health, writes MailOnline.
The bail tribunal hearing at Feltham, South West London, last Monday, revealed both the length to which Ahmed had gone to avoid deportation, and the legal wrangling entailing moving convicted foreign criminals out of the UK.
His barrister, Mark Allison, revealed that Ahmed, who was granted refugee status in the UK in 2003, was applying for a judicial review of his case. The man had also told a psychiatrist that he was suffering from “mental trauma”.
The psychiatrist filed a report which Home Office lawyer Matthew Williams said “is being treated as a request to revoke the deportation order”.
The tribunal also heard how Ahmed had previously tried to commit suicide on more than one occasion.
In another new claim, the Somalian man now reportedly says he was a victim of modern slavery prior to entering the UK.
He insists he was once kidnapped and worked “for a neighbour shining shoes for two years without pay”, although it isn’t clear where this was supposed to have taken place.
Apparently, anyone who is referred to authorities as a potential victim of slavery is up for a re-examination of their case by a specialist in a process that takes 45 days. Pending that, they cannot be deported.
The new developments have outraged Ahmed’s victim, who has been struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after her ordeal.
“It’s ridiculous – his mental health is being put above mine. It’s absolutely disgusting and I’m appalled that he is using this excuse to try and avoid deportation,” she said.
The rapist, 30, was part of a gang that subjected a 16-year- old girl to a terrifying rape and was jailed for nine years.
In 2010, Ahmed, who still denies his crime, was first told he was liable for deportation. However, upon lodging an appeal against his removal, he was only put on a plane last October.
Fellow passengers on a flight to Turkey felt sorry for Ahmed, who began screaming that he had been separated from his family.
Thinking they were doing a good deed, the passengers stirred up a veritable mutiny before their aircraft left Heathrow.
Ahmed was bound for Istanbul, from where he would have travelled further on to Somalia.
In a video of the incident, Ahmed is heard screaming as passengers shout: “Take him off the plane!”
According to the publication, the case of Yaqub Ahmed is now a glaring example of the impotence of the UK immigration system.
According to new figures obtained by the Mail on Sunday, while 3,968 foreign criminals were served with deportation orders last year, 1,803 lodged legal appeals. This signifies that they will stay in Britain until their cases are heard.
Another 397 foreign criminals appealed against removal in the first three months of this year.