A Pakistani man, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman, was allowed to stay in the United Kingdom after claiming that he was gay and would face persecution in his home country.
The 53-year-old sex offender (whose name has been withheld) was granted ‘refugee status’ despite having lived in the UK illegally for 11 years. He revealed his supposed ‘homosexuality’ only months after being convicted of sexual assault.
His ‘asylum claim’ has been challenged by the UK Home Office at an upper immigration tribunal. The Pakistani man came to the UK as a student in 2006 but later overstayed his visa.
He was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman in May 2017 and was convicted of the same crime that year. Later, he sought asylum claiming ‘fear of persecution’ following deportation to Pakistan.
The Pakistani man alleged that he was innocent and a ‘gay’ after previously pleading guilty to sexual assault.
This is, however, not the first time that illegal immigrants and convicted foreign criminals have successfully prevented deportations by alleging a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
