Asylum seeker filmed himself in same park he raped girl, 15 | UK | News
This is young Afghan refugee Jan Jahanzeb, who struts around the same Midlands park where he brutally raped a 15-year-old girl. 17-year-old Jahanzeb was jailed yesterday along with 17-year-old Afghan Israr Niazal for the shocking attack in May this year. Even one of his own lawyers said the attack was so horrific that it could lead to riots if full details were revealed.
But the Daily Mail featured startling footage from Jahanzeb’s TikTok account, showing him seemingly unconcerned in the same park in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, where the rape took place. In the clip, released a day after the rape and just hours before both teenagers were arrested, Jahanzeb is seen posing in a white T-shirt and jeans to the back of a popular Pashto song called Yari Tawan Lari.
Other videos on Jahanzeb’s TikTok show him with his accomplice Niazal in what appears to be the same park a few days before the attack. Some of the videos on Jahanzeb’s page, from before he arrived in the UK, depict life in Belgium and France, a carefree life of wandering around parks in the sun, shooting videos, often wearing bright white sneakers and T-shirts bearing the name of designers such as Louis Vuitton.
Jahanzeb’s TikTok videos contrast sharply with brutal crimes
In July, at what appears to be an amusement park, a friend sees him staring at the camera, causing Jahanzeb to smile shyly as two girls pass by and playfully make heart signs with their fingers. In another, a three-star tattoo on her neck is clearly visible as she poses in a park in traditional Pashtun garb.
Ironically, given her crime, she appears to be making the case for women’s rights in Afghanistan in another TikTok video she reposted. The poster of a schoolgirl being silenced by a man covering her mouth with his hand is accompanied by the Afghan flag and the slogan “God damn the oppressors, the poor virgins of our country, Amen” accompanied by crying emojis.
Details of the couple’s asylum requests to the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been revealed
The videos come as more details emerge about the asylum claims the pair made to the Home Office after arriving in the UK on small boats two months apart. Niazal arrived in the UK in November 2024, claiming his father had been killed by the Taliban, while Jahanzeb arrived in January this year after living in Belgium for a while.
He told authorities it was his fourth attempt to cross into the UK, having been thwarted by French police in previous attempts. His story was that Jahanzeb was threatened by his relatives regarding a fatal car accident involving his father. Both teenagers were temporarily housed in Kent before being transferred to council care in Warwickshire.
Judge accepts legal challenge to lift ban on naming attackers
Before sentencing them yesterday, judge Sylvia de Bertodano accepted the media’s legal objection and agreed to lift the ban on naming them because of their age. The Daily Mail quoted Jahanzeb, who turns 18 in three weeks and will be sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison, as saying: “When you discussed your crime you tried to minimize your responsibility, blaming your co-accused for implicating you, the victim herself for pushing and kissing you, as well as the fact that you were drunk.
“You say that you are inexperienced in sexual matters; your reluctance to talk about this makes it difficult to assess the accuracy of this claim, although of course I understand that your sexual experience is necessarily limited given your age.”
He added: “You left Afghanistan after saying threats had been made to you and your family and spent nearly nine months traveling to the UK. You traveled through most countries on foot and I’m sure your journey was both difficult and dangerous. I accept that this amounts to a series of traumatic experiences for a young person. I was told it was possible for you to suffer from PTSD.”
Jahanzeb carries out deportation order, Niazal escapes fate by pleading guilty before his 17th birthday
Jahanzeb had already been issued a deportation order, but young Niazal has so far managed to avoid that fate by pleading guilty the day before his 17th birthday. According to the report, Niazal, who was only 16 years old at the time of the crime, was told by the judge: “You still claim that you believe the victim consented.”
“You also say that you don’t understand consent because there is no consent in Afghanistan. But you are able to discuss the issue of consent in a way that, in my opinion, shows that you understand the concept.
“You came to the UK from Afghanistan in November 2024, fleeing fear of the Taliban. Your formal education was limited. Your father is believed to have been killed by the Taliban and your mother also suffers from mental health problems. Your journey to the UK lasted nine months, was challenging and traumatic. Your childhood experiences have had a significant impact on your cognitive development.
“I have been told that you are determined to build a future in the UK. Whether that happens is a matter for another court.”
