Rape gang suspects who fled country to dodge justice must be caught, says MP

Two men who absconded before they were due to be tried on charges of being part of a which raped two vulnerable Yorkshire teenagers must be tracked down and caught, their constituency MP has said.

Robbie Moore has called for Attorney General Lord Hermer to explain why the pair were able to leave the UK prior to their – while he also described the sentences handed down to other members of the gang as “pathetic”.

The two girls were treated as “authoresses of their own misfortune” by police and social services, Judge Ahmed Nadim said, as he jailed three of those involved.

Ibrar Hussain, 47, Imtiaz Ahmed, 62; and Fayaz Ahmed, 45, were last week sent to prison for six and a half years, nine years, and seven and a half years respectively at on Friday, by a judge who described how they raped one of the girls in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in the 1990s, when she was 13 or 14.

However, only Hussain was in court, with the other two believed to have fled the country. West Yorkshire Police said a warrant has been issued for the arrest of the Ahmed brothers and “inquiries are ongoing to locate them”.

The conclusion of last week’s case means it can now be reported that five other members of the gang were jailed after a previous trial, which finished in October 2023.

Amreaz Asghar, 47, of Keighley, was jailed for four-and-a-half years for rape; Perwaz Asghar, 50, of Nottingham, who was jailed for six-and-a-half years for two indecent assaults; Sajid Mahmood Khan, 45, of Keighley, was jailed for three years for rape; and Zehroon Razak, 47, of Keighley, who was jailed for six-and-a-half-years for rape. Mohammed Din, 47, of Keighley, was jailed for 14 years for 11 counts of rape.

In addition, a 47-year-old man was found not fit to stand trial. A trial of facts took place and concluded that he did commit the act involved in the rape charge. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Mr Nadim described how the girls were plied with drugs and alcohol as they were passed between numerous men, “virtually all of whom were of Asian heritage”, in the town in the 1990s, when they were in their early teens.

Tory MP Mr Moore said: “The fact that two defendants, expected to stand trial for such heinous crimes, were allowed to abscond abroad is completely unacceptable. We cannot forget that these men were part of a in which its members literally ‘queued up’ to gang rape their victims.

“The cowardly actions of these convicted rapists reflect the sickening predation they perpetrated on the young, defenceless girls that were their victims.

“I have written to the Attorney General to ask why these criminals were allowed to flee the country, and to seek assurances that if they will not serve their sentences, they will not be permitted re-entry to the United Kingdom.”

Turning his attention to the amount of prison time handed out, Mr Moore continued: “I have written to the Attorney General urging him to call in and review the deeply pathetic sentences handed out to eight men from Keighley who carried out multiple rapes of two young innocent girls in the 1990s.

“These sentences are ridiculous and completely disproportionate to the severity of the crime. We know that time and time again all levels of the British State have failed thousands of girls across our country. These sentences, I fear, are more of the same.

“We cannot go on like this. We need a national inquiry with full statutory powers – with proper focus on Keighley and the wider Bradford District. Nothing less than that will suffice.”

In a statement read to the court, one of the girls, who is now in her 40s, said: “I feel that if I had been listened to sooner, rather than later, my life could have been different.”

She said she “became an object – used and abused from the age of 13”.

The girl added: “Nothing in the world can ever fix the damage they caused me. Because of them I have lost my identity.”

Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Greenbank, of Bradford District Police, praised the courage of the girls, who reported the abuse in 2016.

She said: “I hope this sends a clear message that, regardless of how long ago these offences may have happened, we will pursue every avenue to get justice.”

Michael Quinn, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the men’s actions were “wicked, vile and sordid”.

He said: “These convictions send a very clear message that the CPS, working alongside law enforcement colleagues, will relentlessly pursue justice for victims and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, whenever that abuse took place.”

Express.co.uk has contacted the Attorney General’s Office for comment.