Reform MP exposed rapist as asylum seeker after judge gagged press | UK | News
Judge Nirmal Shant restricts reporting (Image: Notts Live)
An MP who unmasked an asylum-seeking rapist on Monday insisted the public deserved the truth after his immigration status was concealed, the Daily Mail reports.
Pakistani national Sheraz Malik, 28, was found guilty of raping a “defenseless” teenage girl whom he and a friend jumped on in a park in Reform MP Lee Anderson’s constituency.
Mr Anderson first revealed Malik was an asylum seeker after he was arrested for targeting the 18-year-old woman in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, last year.
Judge imposed reporting restrictions until the end of the hearing
But a judge blocked the rapist’s asylum status from being made public by blocking the press from reporting it until the end of the hearing; This can now be revealed.
On Monday, a jury found Malik guilty of two counts of rape after just a few hours of deliberation at Birmingham Crown Court. The trial was heard that his friend took turns raping the teenager and then asked him “Do you like this?” he was heard asking.
The distraught victim begged a friend via text message to “please help me” as she was being hunted by men, jurors heard.
Malik was living in taxpayer-funded accommodation at the time; He had spent periods before arriving in Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
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Mr Anderson claimed he was asked by police not to publicize the case (Image: Getty)
Anderson accused police and judiciary of reluctance
Following the verdict, Mr Anderson said: “It is clear that the police and the entire judiciary are extremely reluctant to reveal to the public the true identity of this vile creature. The public deserve better, which is why I have revealed the truth.”
Malik’s alleged accomplice was identified by police as an Afghan national believed to be abroad after escaping. The police are looking for him.
In posts on X and Facebook last summer, Mr Anderson claimed he was asked by police not to publicize the case for fear of jeopardizing prosecution.
He wrote: “Enough is enough… Why should it affect the trial… I will not remain silent and I will not care about the consequences.” The posts triggered an anti-immigrant protest in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
Trial moved to Birmingham during publicity
Malik’s trial was later moved from Nottingham to Birmingham due to increased publicity.
At a hearing at Nottingham Crown Court in September, Judge Nirmal Shant imposed a reporting restriction delaying the publication of Malik’s immigration status until the end of the hearing to prevent “a significant risk of prejudice to the administration of justice”.
During the final six-day trial, jurors heard the victim was in Sutton Lawn park with a friend on June 29 last year, while the defendant and a group of men were playing cricket nearby.
Her friend left briefly to meet another friend and asked the men to keep an eye on her.
Malik’s trial was later moved from Nottingham to Birmingham due to increased publicity. (Image: Reach PLC)
Rapist told housemates he was kidnapped in car boot
But instead, one of the men took the woman to a secluded area and raped her. The court heard Malik told flatmates he had been smuggled to England in the boot of a car, then dragged her up a tree by her hair before carrying out his own sexual assault.
When Malik was asked in court why he took advantage of the victim, he replied: “What else was I supposed to do?”
When asked how he got to Europe, Malik demurred, saying the question was irrelevant, prompting Judge Simon Ash to intervene and side with the defendant.
Malik will be sentenced at a later date.
