Afghan rapist granted UK asylum after Home Office failures | UK | News

An Afghanistan rapist was granted asylum in the UK and lived freely in the UK for six years after a series of devastating failures by the Home Office.

Authorities arrested Omar Ali Noori, 31, in Austria over an alleged rape in 2018, before he gave up bail and traveled to the UK illegally in 2019.

Despite being a fugitive from Austrian justice, Whitehall immigration authorities granted him permanent settlement rights in 2023; it was a five-year grant that would allow his wife of 23 years to join him in 2024.

Many fake identities revealed

Court documents revealed Noori maintained four different identities while filing papers listing five conflicting birth dates, the Sun reported.

The report said an extradition judge ruled that Noori, currently detained at Wandsworth Prison in South West London, should return to Austria to complete his three-year prison sentence.

Judge Neeta Minhas reportedly said: “Noori was asked directly whether he had committed or been accused of a crime in any country or whether he had been detained in any country.

“She answered both questions in the negative. This was clearly not true… I think Noori is a fugitive.”

The report states that Noori is currently appealing the decision.

Ministry promises deportation reform

A Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesman said: “The extradition process for this person is ongoing.

“We review the immigration status of individuals when new information comes to light that suggests they were obtained through fraud, misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact.

“We will not allow foreign criminals and illegal immigrants to abuse our laws.

“We are reforming human rights laws and changing the broken appeals system so we can increase deportations.”