LONDON: A court in Bristol, United Kingdom, has jailed three Afghan nationals over the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl, with three of the accused also having fled the country for France after the attack before being arrested and returned to the UK.
Bristol Crown Court heard that Mehrab Safi, 21, Salman Habibkheil, 19, Awal Ahmadzai, 19 and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons attacked the girl at a house in Bristol in November last year.
The victim had been brought to the house and given alcohol before being sexually assaulted and raped over several hours.
The court found that she had been trafficked for the purpose of committing a sexual offence.
Safi, Ahmadzai and Habibkheil fled the UK in December 2025 by hiding in the back of a lorry.
They filmed themselves “celebrating” their escape before being arrested by French authorities in Calais and repatriated to the UK.
Safi was sentenced to 15 years in prison for two counts of rape and one count of human trafficking. Habibkheil received nine years in detention for rape and human trafficking, while Ahmadzai received nine years for rape and sexual assault.
The 17-year-old defendant was sentenced to three years in detention for rape. Judge Michael Cullum said the victim was “obviously vulnerable” and that the defendants had preyed on her vulnerability.
According to an analyst, illegal Afghan refugees in different countries have been repeatedly found involved in a number of crimes, including murders, rapes, sexual assaults, harassment, drug trafficking, robberies, theft, assaults, kidnappings, illegal settlements, extortion and organized criminal activity.
“This has fueled deep public anger and widening social resentment,” the analyst said with the people also calling upon their respective European governments to take strict action against such elements and find out a permanent solution to the menace.
Avon and Somerset Police said the girl, who was from Somerset, was plied with alcohol when she arrived at Safi’s home. She was then sexually assaulted and raped over a number of hours by the three men and teenager in November last year.
Officers attended the property and found the girl after her mother reported her missing.
Det Sgt Jo Babbage said the victim had begun communicating with Safi five days before the attacks “via mobile, predominantly Snapchat”.
She said: “It’s clear that that’s where the grooming and the contact process was started that led up to her being brought into Bristol by taxi which was arranged [by Safi].”
Babbage said the girl has been left “very traumatised” by the attacks, but has been “very brave” throughout the investigation.
All four were also sentenced to be put on the sex offender’s register indefinitely, and received a sexual harm prevention order which stops them communicating with children.
